


A Wolf and a Leopard Walk Into A Store... Sounds Like the Start to a Bad Joke

by Zephyra_loves_fandoms



Series: Banana Bus Squad Fanfiction [1]
Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst and attempted humor, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Changing Perspectives, DelOhmToonz Don't Come in Til Later, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Violence, Other Pack(s), Past Torture, Plot Twists, Secret Identity, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Squirrel is Innocent, The First 15 Chapters Are Nothing But TerrorSnuckle and Minicat, This Is Gonna Take A While
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2019-06-17 22:18:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 232,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15471333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zephyra_loves_fandoms/pseuds/Zephyra_loves_fandoms
Summary: Noanric is a continent known for its unique culture and freedom from most anything. The only problem is that the country is young and its rules fail to hold back the humans from trying to overthrow the demons. Without official protection, many demons are falling victim to experiments to decrease their power and influence from the world. In the midst of this place, Vanoss and his pack are asked by the country’s leader to liberate a group of demons from a human laboratory close to their territory. However, Vanoss has been warned of a loophole among this chaos. Can he lead his pack to safety and discover the blue demon from the prophecy? Or will he suffer the consequences of a past long forgotten?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! My name is Zephyra. I am the writer for this story and I will mention that this is the first time I have posted one of my stories. This is not the first story or fanfic that I’ve written but it’s the first one I’ve made public. I would also like to address the Alternate Universe portion of this story. I’ve been writing four books for the past nine years of my life and the universe I’m using for this fanfiction is the same one I’ve been creating for my four books. With that being said, there are different rules for some things in this story that I will have to explain before each chapter wherever the rules apply. Unfortunately, because I have not published my stories, I can’t always explain any specific history or anything about this world besides what is relevant to this story because no one likes spoilers.  
> I will most likely have a random upload schedule because of not only my writing habits but also because I am still working and doing school over the summer. I encourage positive criticism and I would love to hear back on things that I could improve on or mistakes that I make.  
> Thank you to the people who have chosen this fic. I will warn you now though that this chapter doesn't have much plot. If anything, this first chapter is here to set the scene. It might not be interesting, but the information is definitely useful ^^  
> Enjoy!

**Vanoss’ Perspective:**

   The stars danced in entrancing circles across the sky as I slipped through the shadows of the night. I paused for a moment, staring up at them as they blinked at me.

   The forest was gorgeous at this time of night. The shadows clung to the leaves and the underbrush of each tree around me. The slow breeze thrumming through the undergrowth sent shivers down my spine, making my fur puff out just a little more. The itch under my skin for dense rainforests and humid climates was tempered by the sounds of the night shifting around me.

   It was springtime in Noanric and, thus, still cold from the previous winter, especially where we lived.

   Stretched from the northern tip of the world down to the hottest areas at the equator, there existed a continent known as Noanric. My pack and I lived somewhere in the middle where the trees were nothing but cotton or pine and the winters were sometimes long and harsh. Personally, the cold climate was the only regrettable part of settling down in this area, but it was also the only compromise that everyone in the pack could make.

   When we first met, my pack and I traveled a lot. However, about four years ago, after I'd claimed everyone as a part of my pack, people started getting antsy. More and more, they pushed for us to try and find somewhere we could all call home. The only problem was that everyone had different ideas as to where “home” should be.

   Despite most of us being from the feline family, we’d all grown up in different environments around Noanric, as well as Eufanha. Each of us preferred something different for a place to settle in, whether it was hot, humid climates or damp rainforests. Eventually, we stumbled across the territory we lived in now, which suited at least one of everybody’s requirements for a territory. I was the deciding factor for choosing our current home as leader of the pack.

   I can’t remember when each of the nine members of the pack decided that I would be the best choice for their leader. Sure, having an alpha subgender made it more likely for me to be chosen, but I always thought that Marcel or Tyler would get the role. Those two were practically geniuses, and they were also alphas like me. Personally, I would have chosen one of them, but Fate has a funny way of working around things.

   I never considered myself a leader before my pack chose me to lead them. Admittedly, I wanted to be part of a pack, but I never saw myself at the head of it. For the longest time, I had ignored the itch under my skin for companionship in general. After everyone decided to make me their leader though, I couldn’t resist the call to claim my own pack members.

   Even after I created the pack, I remember how often my authority had been challenged in the years previous to finding our territory. Back then, having so many diverse people in the pack on top of having other alphas in the group had caused a lot of arguments. It was something that we had to work through as a group and, for a while there, I was almost convinced that not many of us could get along enough to be in a pack.

  However, since finding our new home three years ago, it was a rarity to find a pack member in a bad mood. Of course, arguments weren’t avoidable all the time. Sometimes, people got feisty and fights broke out. It was never anything physical, but feelings did get hurt a lot. Trying to smooth out disputes was probably the most stressful part of my job as leader.

   Occasionally, for reasons like this, being the leader got a bit overwhelming. Then again, too much social interaction never failed to exhaust me. It didn’t help that both of my preferred animal forms were solitary creatures.

   Luckily, because my pack was mostly feline, they were also solitary people. None of them minded it too terribly when I took these moments to step out and recharge my social batteries.

   A sigh escaped me as my gaze wandered from the stars in the sky above to the trees as another gust of wind passed through my fur. I hummed softly when I felt the animal in me wake up the longer I stayed in my shifted form.

   That night, I sported the fur of a black panther- A.K.A. a melanistic leopard. Normally, my fur was spotted and striped like any other leopards, but I changed it occasionally to suit my needs.

   Not everyone could do this, mind you. I’d only ever met one other shapeshifter like me in my life, and he couldn’t do half the stuff I could.

   Even though I knew I could shift into anything I wanted and make it any color I felt was the most appealing, I rarely used this ability. For the most part, I limited myself to my leopard form and, occasionally, my owl form. Other than that, I had no use for my shapeshifting abilities for anything besides races.

   That night was one of the only exceptions I made to my rule though. Being able to blend in with the shadows of the night came in handy when I didn’t want to be caught by anyone happening to take a midnight stroll like me.

   When I left the house, I had no real goal as to where I was going in mind. The only thing I wanted to do was to get away. Apparently, my subconscious had other ideas which I didn’t recognize until I glanced around to spot a familiar tree with gnarled roots nearby.

   With a smile, I lifted my head to scent the air.

   As I suspected, the first thing I picked up was the scent of the river that made up the eastern border of our territory. A thrill of amusement raced through me as I angled towards the smell and increased my pace to a light trot. Somewhere, I knew the scent would lead me to my favorite part of the river. The waterfall.

   The sound of it hit me before the view did. As soon as I broke through the tree line, I was greeted by a blast of mist. It was one of the most welcome feelings I had that night, despite the air around me dropping several degrees. The cold atmosphere only grew colder as I paced forward to admire the scene laid out before me.

   Just a few feet away from the treeline, the ground dropped away off the face of a cliff. Rivulets of water from the river rushed over the edge of the precipice and plummeted down to the pit below.

   From my vantage point, the waterfall seemed almost never ending. The sound of the water was so immense that I couldn’t even hear my own breath over its roars. Even the ground below me trembled at the water’s presence.

   Below me, the cliff dropped down to a pit of water thirty feet down. The top of the waterfall sat several feet away, formed into a half circle, spitting water over its edge with torrential force. The rocky edges of the cliff stuck out in some places which created miniature waterfalls against the water.

   This part of the river and further down where the river meandered into our territory were my favorite spots to hang out, especially when I needed to be reminded of just how amazing life can be.

   The waterfall felt so terrifyingly vast that I simply sat in awe for a moment. A waterfall can take a person and dash them to pieces in all the worst ways possible. Yet, they can be so magnificent in all their power. The power vibrating through the ground was almost a comfort for me and, for once, I felt smaller than usual.

   For a moment, I wasn’t anything special or different. For once, there was something in the world with a power as terrifying as mine.

   A low growl rumbled through my chest as these thoughts crossed my mind. Without a second thought, I backed up to the tree line before launching myself across the stretch of open grass between me and the cliff. In one powerful motion, I flung myself off the cliff edge and plummeted towards the river below.

   The plunge was unlike any other thing in the world. It reminded me of a hurricane or a hail storm. The mist from the waterfall slapped me in the face as I plunged downward, my tail streaming out behind me.

 It felt like I fell forever. There was so much adrenaline in my veins that it made those moments spent dropping to the water below stretch into unfathomable lengths of time. I had gone cliff jumping here many times before, but I was still taken by surprise when my body hit the water and the air was knocked out of me. The fact that the water was probably only 50°F didn’t help.

   Underneath the waterfall, there was a pit that had been carved out of the earth from the impact of the river cascading down. The entire thing probably measured out to be a good 30X40 foot divot and, below the surface of the water, the pit dropped about another 30 feet.

   After a moment spent speeding through the water like a missile, I felt my front paws brush the bottom of the pit followed by the rest of my body. I stayed on the muddy floor for a moment before pushing off and propelling myself upwards. By the time my head broke the surface, the current of the waterfall had already pushed me out a ways away from where I had jumped.

   The ground wasn’t too far down near shore, so I could easily touch. However, instead of getting out of the water, I pedaled back out into the pool, relishing in the water tugging against my fur. It was still somewhat cold but, between being acclimatized to the temperature and the nature of my body heat, it didn’t bother me.

   If Brian or Brock were around, they would look at me like I was crazy. Of course, their werecat forms had thick shaggy fur which dragged them down in the water so it was understandable that they didn’t like being in it for too long.

   After a while, a cold breeze swept across the water, chilling the top of my head. I took that as my signal to get out.

   With reluctance, I paddled over to the shore on our side of the territory and pulled myself from the water’s clutches. I couldn’t stay in the water all night. Eventually, I had to return home and face my responsibilities.

   That didn’t stop me from enjoying my free time. Well… technically, it wasn’t free time because I was supposed to be in a meeting but, ya know… details.

   Shaking myself, I sat down on the river shore and looked up at the sky once more. Above me, the stars continued their watchful gaze over me and a full moon glowed over the treetops. The sight made me smile. These were the nights that I enjoyed the most.

    _You could enjoy it more if you were actually doing your job_. A voice whispered in the back of my head.

   I frowned and twisted around to clean a wet patch on my back in an effort to distract myself.

    _I’m just enjoying myself while I still have the chance_. I argued.

   The world rippled around me as another gust of wind spread through the trees and the grass. Normally, I loved the wind and its playfulness. After jumping into the water in the middle of spring though, the wind was not as welcome as usual.

   With a shiver, I stood and walked away from the river’s edge to a giant boulder on the shore. This particular boulder sat like a huge chair which faced the border of our territory on the other side of the river. In the middle of it, a perfect bowl had been carved out. It was just big enough for me to curl up in with room to spare.

  Shaking myself off one more time, I jumped up and settled into the rock to clean myself.

   Personally, I appreciated the position of the rock since it meant that I could watch what happened on the other side of the border while also being comfortable. My pack and I were the only ones who could see what lay on the other side of the river. Anyone on the opposite side couldn’t see us. In this sense, the barrier around this part of our territory resembled a one way mirror that helped us hide our existence from outsiders.

  There were a few other places like this around our territory, protected from outsiders by spells woven together when we first settled down. Back when we were still looking for a place to stay, we tried finding an area of land that contained physical boundaries that we could use as borders. When we decided that this was the place we would call home, these physical boundaries were then overlaid with tons of complex spells.

   The most prevalent of these spells was the one-way mirror spell, like the one on the river border, and the one that incapacitated any human or demon that came across our borders. The latter of these two could encompass a person’s mind, restricting them until they became delusional or incredibly weak, or it could attack a person's nervous system and paralyze them. Either way, people fell into a coma-like state under these spells, at which point we simply had to carry them back out of the territory. Only pack members, along with some roguish friends, were immune to them.

   Most of the territory was set up so that, on top of the incapacitation spells, there were also things like the river and the waterfall which stopped people from entering. If someone were to be careless enough to walk through the border, they could easily plummet to their doom or fall down a mountain side. It was a perfect combination of physical borders mixed with invisible ones.

   There was only one spot that had no physical advantage which lay further north of the river. It was the only part of our borders that was flat because we blew it out years ago to make a road for our vehicles.

   For the most part, the pack used their animal forms to get around but, whenever we went shopping or needed to blend in with the humans in town, we took one of the six cars that we owned. It was an expensive venture to keep so many vehicles but, sometimes, having that much transportation back and forth is necessary.

   Despite having no physical advantages, the road exiting our territory was protected by our most advanced spells, some of which could immobilize any demon within seconds. No matter what, every part of our territory was protected in some way, shape, or form.

   Lui, Marcel, and Nogla had derived all of the spells we used from older spells they knew. Every spell was a modified version of something much older than us and we designed them to suit our needs.

   For this reason and many others, I held a great deal of pride for my pack. They were all ingenious in their own unique ways.

    _All the more reason for them to be protected_. The voice from earlier whispered again. I recognized the presence of the animal within me, his alpha instincts coming out to play.

   “ _I can protect them just as well by myself. Whatever she has to say is most likely irrelevant to their safety_.” I growled back at the beast.

  The leopard bared his fangs at me and began pacing back and forth, his heavy footsteps echoing through the confines of my mind.

   _You won’t know if it’s relevant until you talk to her_. He argued. I shook my head and laid down on the rock below me.

The leopard had a point. Instead of swimming around in the water all night, I should’ve been at my meeting, confronting my responsibilities head on.

   I didn’t want to though. The letter I received earlier in the week had me on edge. The way the whole thing was worded made me anxious. Their was something very important that would be discussed in the meeting that but I wasn’t sure what it was.

   That was part of the reason why I decided to take a walk that night. I was avoiding meeting with  _her_  until the last possible second. Plus, I knew that I wouldn’t have nearly as much free time after I talked to her.

   _Your responsibility is to your pack._  The leopard murmured, his voice softening with sympathy.  _Situations where they are concerned take priority over your “personal time”_.

   I knew he was right. Deep down, I knew I was responsible for the pack and that my meeting could have everything to do with them. I ad to go back.

   With a frustrated growl, I stood and gave myself a rough shake before jumping off my boulder and heading back into the forest. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about being seen with fluorescent markings, like Marcel’s stripes, as I made my way through the undergrowth.

   As if the simple thought had summoned him, the wind shifted to drag a familiar scent across my nose. The barrier behind me almost seemed to flex inwards, signaling the passage of someone through our borders.

   I stopped and waited as some rustling off to my left kicked up. A moment later, a stocky black and white tiger came stalking out of the shadows, his fluorescent green and purple stripes slowly coming back to life to fill in the black in his pelt. His orange eyes were such a contradiction to his overall color scheme that I felt mildly surprised, as usual, when they too flashed in the darkness of the night.

   “ _What’re you doing out here Evan_?” The tiger asked quietly, his body slowly releasing itself from the shadows.

   “ _Thinking_.” I answered simply. The feline narrowed his eyes at me, his ears twitching with curiosity.

   “ _So, the honorable leader needs some alone time to think about how important his job is. What a surprise_.” He purred, his actions exuding intense amounts of sarcasm.

   I scoffed and shook my head. “ _What are_ you  _doing out here Marcel_?”

   There was a slight variation in the pulse of Marcel’s stripes but his expression remained neutral. “ _I was looking for you, o great_  lafaino.”

   The tiger lowered himself to the ground in a dramatic bow. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, my attention briefly catching on the shadowy bushes surrounding us as they fluttered.

   “ _Looking for me._ " I mused as a thought occurred to me. The tiger raised himself up and met my gaze levelly with a pair of orange eyes. " _On the other side of the border_?”

   Marcel flashed his fangs at me in an animalistic smile. “ _Mini told me you might have been trying to find some tail out there_.”

   I snorted and flicked my ears at him. “ _There’s tons of food already in our territory_.”

   “ _You know that’s not what I meant_.” The tiger huffed.

   I rolled my eyes and walked past him, into the woods. His tail flicked my shoulder lightly as I passed.

   “ _T_ _hat’s exactly why I answered the way I did_.”

   Marcel simply chuckled and followed me as I headed back to the house.

   Marcel was an interesting person- like most everyone else in the pack. I was fairly convinced that the tattoos on his arms were some symbol of royalty somewhere along the tiger bloodline. No matter how many times I asked though, he wouldn’t tell me what tribe he came from or if my suspicions were correct.

   Marcel came to the pack years ago, accompanied by Scotty, in search of people who were “like him”- whatever that meant. The tiger had an interesting sense of humor and a thrilling laugh that left people feeling giddy. Sometimes, he had a different way of speaking, but almost every single person in the pack had a slight variation of speech or an accent to their words. No two of us were alike.

   I was pretty sure that Wildcat and Basically, their real names being Tyler and Marcel, were both either born or raised somewhere in the south. Simply because of geographic features and all that though, no two demons always speak the same, even if they are of the same species.

   Marcel and Tyler both came to me in the search of being understood. The only unfortunate part about them joining my pack was that, because they were both alphas, they tended to challenge my authority more often than the others. Luckily, they complied in letting me be the leader of the group but I knew that, if they wanted, either of them could easily try to dethrone me.

   I still enjoyed their company though. No matter what, everyone who had come to me and joined my pack or simply stopped by to say hi as friends was appreciated.

  Smii7y, along with his mate, Kryoz, was one of the few random friends that stopped by every once in a while without being affected by our spells. I didn't know them all that well, but Mini and Panda spent a lot of time at their cabin just outside our borders. At least, they did whenever the two rogues weren't out of town on a mission.

  The main group, Mini, Wildcat, Terroriser, Moo, Lui, Nogla, Marcel, Scotty, Panda, and I, stayed on the territory for longer periods of time. Some of the others took moments of alone time like I did, but we all lived in the same two story white house in the middle of our large chunk of land.

  Seventy miles east of our territory lay the human city, Panlyog. It wasn’t my favorite place to be and most of the others agreed with me about that, so we kept to ourselves unless we needed something from the humans.

   I was mulling over the plans to make a trip into Panlyog the next day when the wind shifted and Marcel’s scent hit me full force. Normally, I didn’t mind, but there was an ever so slight variation in it that night. I couldn’t quite put a claw on what that variation was, but it was definitely different in an unsettling sort of way.

   I watched the powerful tiger carefully as he prowled through the undergrowth beside me. He was too busy scenting the air around us to notice my curiosity. Chalking it up to a flaw in my sense of smell, I shrugged off my intrigue as we continued towards the house.

   Our house wasn’t hard to miss if you knew what you were looking for. It stood on a hill, pearly white, two stories above the ground and a basement below ground. The only thing that stopped it from sticking out like a sore thumb was the thick copes of trees surrounding it in a 10 foot radius and the giant canopy of branches overhead. The trees were so thick in the area that no creature had ever attempted getting through it. Even the roof of the house was designed to look like the ground to avoid aerial attacks.

   The only way in and out of the house was to go through secret passageways built into the bushes surrounding the area. The white building was our perfect escape, especially with Nogla’s collection of flowers planted all around the edges.

   Marcel and I wove our way through the bushes and into the clearing beyond. I glanced around briefly, my eyes catching on a light in a window on the second floor and another coming from downstairs. The second light was too dim to be from the living room, so I assumed it came from either the kitchen or the TV.

   As Marcel and I approached, one of the flood lights on the front porch turned on, revealing a wooden platform with three steps leading up to it. The porch stuck out a few feet from the front of the house with a table and several chairs sitting on top of it. Around it, several bushes and flowers of varying colors appeared.

   Once we reached the top of the steps, Marcel and I began transforming back into our human forms. My transformation was easy because of my shifter genes, but Marcel took his time to rearrange his body.

   For shapeshifters, transforming in a “puff of smoke” is the best description for a our transformations. Shifting is, for the most part, swift and painless for most shifters. Hence the name. Not everybody had it so easy though.

   It didn’t matter how skilled or fierce a demon was. Almost every one of them had some difficulty with shifting. Some people couldn't shift fast without pain forcing a shift and others couldn't physically force a shift.

  Whatever their reasoning, I didn’t find slow shifting very appealing, especially after listening to Marcel’s bones break, scrape, pop, and crack back into place for about thirty seconds.

   “Ya done?” I asked with mock impatience as Marcel finished.

   He rolled his eyes at me and chuffed lightly with his remaining tiger-like vocal chords. “Show off.”

   As soon as we walked in the front door, the sweet smell of beta wafted over my nose. Marcel and I followed the scent through the open area inside the front door into the kitchen. There, we found Mini leaning against the stove with a cup of water in his hands. His blue-gray eyes lifted as we walked in.

   “Hi Mini!” Marcel called to him softly.

   Mini smiled and responded in kind but with more exaggeration on the quietness. After all, it was one in the morning and nobody likes being woken up in the middle of the night.

   Marcel cupped a hand around his mouth and mock whispered, “How are you?”

   Mini copied him with a smile. “I’m fine. How are you Marcel?”

   “I’m good.”

   “That’s good.” The two of them laughed before Mini’s attention shifted to me and he smiled anew.

   “How’s the leader tonight?” He beamed while still keeping his voice low.

   I hesitated for a split second. It was an innocent question, but Mini’s beta scent meddled with my head.

   My first thought was to tell him the truth. I didn’t want to come home and go to sleep. I didn’t want go to my meeting. I didn’t want  _her_  in my head and, most of all, I didn’t want to take this mission. Everything that was about to happen gave me an awful sense of foreboding.

   I wanted to tell Mini all of this. What I didn’t want to do was explain myself in front of Marcel though. Call it a superiority complex or an alpha’s complex, but showing weakness to another alpha didn’t quite sit right with me.

    So, after a split second of hesitation, I responded with, “I’m good. How are you?”

    “I’m good”, Mini replied, his eyes narrowing slightly.

   When I didn’t respond with another “that’s good”, Mini raised an eyebrow and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. Marcel plowed on without noticing my internal crisis.

   Fortunately, the tiger wasn’t really in the mood to give us a play-by-play about his adventures outside of the territory. Instead, he told Mini that it was quiet and that he hadn’t found anything interesting before giving us a tired wave and casting a “good night” over his shoulder as he walked away.

   Mini and I responded in kind and watched the alpha walk up the stairs. As soon as the tiger was out of earshot, Mini turned an inquiring eye to me.

   I sighed and sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen. “I can’t sleep at night. You know that.”

   The beta across from me slowly nodded before rolling his eyes. “Strange. I was hoping to finally hear about this piece of tail you’ve been seeing.”

   I briefly glared up at him before turning my gaze down to my hands. “You know that if that was true, I would tell you or Moo.”

   At times like this, I felt bad for my two betas. They both wanted me to find someone to spend my time with and date, but I couldn’t give that to them. The people in my pack were too much like brothers for me to date and dating humans was forbidden by law in Panlyog. All of my options were sort of closed and everyone in the pack knew it, especially Mini and Moo.

   As betas, it was their job to look after my mental health. Betas are responsible for the mental and physical health of everyone in the pack. That’s why they are better at molecular regeneration and have a particular resistance to the illusions of their pack’s minds.

   I knew it was harmful for my alpha within me to spend so much time alone, even if I was surrounded by pack members most of the time. It was uncommon for a subgender voice to be as strong as mine, and it just so happened to be even more uncommon that someone who had an unstable alpha like mine was ever put into a position of leadership. Having so many conflicting thoughts and instincts was dangerous for me. On one hand, I wanted to protect my pack. On the other, I wanted to find someone who could temper my demons. So far, I was having no luck and that was bad news for Moo and Mini.

   “I’m sorry.” I murmured, looking up into Mini’s face. He gave me a solemn smile and sighed.

   “Don’t be. You’ll find someone. We have faith in you. We always do.” Mini responded easily, as he had done many times before.

   I gave him a small smile before staring back down at the counter top. After a moment, a cup of water was suddenly placed in front of me. I hadn’t even noticed the faucet being turned on. Ignoring this fact, I murmured a quiet thanks before taking a sip.

   “I don’t want to go to sleep tonight.” I admitted reluctantly.

   There was a moment of silence before Mini coughed. I reminded myself to add cold medicine to the shopping list for Panlyog the next day.

   “Why is that?” He asked in a slightly strained voice.

   I reached up with my hand to squeeze the bridge of my nose. “I’m supposed to have a meeting with Ms. Evelynn tonight.”

   There was a flash of surprise on Mini’s face. To his credit, it only lasted a few seconds before his face went back to a generally neutral expression.

   After a moment, the beta nodded and took a drink of his own glass of water. “Let me get this straight…” He folded his hands together before gesturing at me and raising an eyebrow. “You are  _purposely_  avoiding a talk with the one and only Zephyra Evelynn?”

   I couldn’t help but give the beta a tired smile as he spoke.

   “Somehow, you seem to think that that will go without consequence?”

   I sucked in a breath to argue but stopped halfway through when I realized that he was right.

   “Of course there’ll be consequences.”

   Mini made a “duh” face and gave me wide eyes. “Ya think?”

   I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. “I just know that she’s going to give me some problem that I’ll have to figure out how to fix.”

   “Oh right. I forgot. Responsibilities. Your worst nightmare.” Mini mocked sarcastically.

   I glared half-heartedly up at him before making a face. He wasn’t wrong…

  “Obviously. But she keeps coming back. This time though, I get the feeling that this case is bigger than usual.“

  Zephyra Evelynn was the  _Kafaira_ , the continental leader, of Noanric. As the title suggests, the entire continent was subject to her jurisdiction.

   Since she had such a large responsibility, Zephyra never traveled long distances. Instead, she set up meetings in letters and visited people in their dreams in order to share messages. That was one of the many unfortunate things about meeting her.

  Meeting Zephyra in my dreams meant that she had access to my subconscious mind; in which case, it didn’t really matter whether or not I tried to hide any of my thoughts from her. She could hear everything I thought when she visited me. The only thing she couldn’t see was my memories, which is something I was always grateful for. No matter what happened, the powerful Demon-Wolf never failed to put me on edge.

   Mini sighed and gave me a sympathetic look. “I understand why you’re avoiding it. Still, you shouldn’t shirk your responsibilities.” The beta sighed, giving me a sympathetic look before his expression turned sour. “Plus, you more than anyone should know that your actions have repercussions, especially when it comes to Zephyra.”

   Part of me winced at Mini’s implications, but the other part of me knew he was right in fearing Zephyra.

  There was a common misconception about Zephyra throughout, not just the continent, but the entire world. Most people heard tales of her power and her incredible military feats as well as her political prowess and they immediately assumed that she was an all-powerful being that held the world in her paws.

   Personally, I knew Zephyra wasn’t as scary as everyone made her out to be. Perhaps that came as a result of actually seeing her outside of the paintings and fairy tales though.

   “Yeah, well, at least I can choose the time that we meet. I could stay up for days and avoid the meeting if I wanted to.” I muttered as I chugged what was left of my glass of water. Mini rolled his eyes.

   “You’re such a child.”

   “Yeah and you’re a man baby. That’s right. I just owned you.” I leaned back in my chair with a playful expression as Mini shook his head.

   Smiling, the beta stood to take my empty glass and walked back to the sink. I scooted my chair out with a small hint of reluctance and followed him.

   All jokes aside, I was still a little agitated, not only because of my meeting with Zephyra, but because I was reminded of domestic problems with my pack.

   Mini was hiding something from me. He had been for months now, both him and Wildcat. I could feel that there was something wrong between them, but neither of them would talk to me about it. That secret was the only reason Mini would be up so late with such a tainted quality to his scent, and it was the reason he was sick at the moment.

   I huffed a sigh and stuffed my hands in my pockets. “I can’t avoid it forever though. So, I might as well be a ‘responsible’ leader and go to bed.”

   “That’s probably a good idea.” Mini chuckled as he turned around to face me.

   I smiled before reaching out an arm and waiting for the traditional warmth. As usual, Mini endorsed me in a short side-hug. I considered scent marking him but decided against it. Tyler would be pissed if I tried that and, after tonight, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have the energy to tease him in the morning.

  “Get some sleep.” Mini murmured as we released each other. I shook my head and smiled.

   “I doubt that’ll happen for me. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen for you though.” I responded with a significant look at the beta.

   He nodded and ducked his head. “I know. I’ll try.”

  “Good night Mini.” I called as I turned to go upstairs.

  “Good night Evan.” Mini responded as I walked away.

  At the top of the stairs, there was a large open room that we used as a secondary sitting/study area. There were couches, TVs, and five desks crammed into the small space. On the left side of the stairs lay five rooms- each of which belonged to Wildcat, Mini, Basically, Panda, and Scotty- and a storage closet for blankets and sheets. The right side contained another five rooms- each of which belonged to me, Lui, Nogla, Terroriser, and Moo- along with the upstairs bathroom. All the alphas stayed closest to the staircase as a safety precaution. Therefore, I didn’t have to walk far to get to my room.

   As soon as I opened the door, I was met with a sweet vanilla scent. I looked over at the desk on the right side of the room to see a tiny flame waving at me from the confines of the glass around the candle.

 _Moo must have visited_. I thought to myself. With a smile, I glanced down the hallway to where his room sat. He knew me too well.

   With a satisfied hum, I stepped inside and quietly closed my door. It was dark in my room, but I had no trouble navigating my way through the darkness despite the piles of messes all over my floor.

  With careful steps, I walked over to the candle and gently blew it out before walking over to my bed and flopping down. Admittedly, I was exhausted, so it was no surprise when I passed out almost immediately.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed. I know there’s not a lot of plot related stuff right now but it definitely picks up speed here soon. This chapter and the next are mainly here to set the scene and do a bit of world building so, after that, it gets easier to read.
> 
> I need to explain a few things here. Firstly, most every demon has two seperate entities that live inside their head. They have the human side, split into a conscious and a subconscious, and the demon side. The demon side is pure instinct, containing every fight or flight response and all a person’s skill in everything related to survival. The human side is the rational side. Generally, the demon is less dominant and bows to the human in most cases. However, people who have anomalies in their instincts (i.e. subgenders or half breeds) tend to have a demon side that is equally as powerful, if not more powerful, than the human counterpart and that can sometimes be an issue. This is a common problem with subgenders because of the nature of how they were created, which I’ll explain at a later date.
> 
> This explains why Vanoss says that there is another voice talking to him. Like I said, some people’s subgender voice can be more powerful than the human and, if that’s the case, they tend to be more vocal and dangerous than others. An overactive voice doesn’t always indicate instability though. In fact, most subgenders have a stronger voice between the ages of 16 and 24. Of course, Vanoss is like 26 right now, which means that the vibrant nature of his alpha won’t go away anytime soon.
> 
> In accordance to the dialogue that has quotations around italic marks, like whenever Marcel and Evan are talking in their animal form: I write these scenes like this because, when demons are in their animal forms, they don’t have a spoken language like humans. Their “speech” is actually a mixture of body language and sounds made in their throats (grunts, chuffs, and sometimes clicking of the tongue or teeth).
> 
> There are also two “need-to-know” terms which are: Kafaira and Lafaino. The first of these terms is simply a label for all continental leaders, of which there are seven in total according to each continent. The second refers to pack/tribe/clan leaders. The “o” and the “a” are relative to gender, just like certain words in Spanish for those of you who know the language. If either of the terms ends in “o”, it means the person is male. If it ends in an “a”, it means the person is female. There is also a third ending which is “e” for those who are genderless or both genders.
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This next chapter sets up the plot for the rest of the story but it's a little short. I tried to shorten it down because it has a lot of world building in it but all of it is useful information for what comes up later on. Also, this chapter is based in Vanoss’ dream as he said in the previous chapter. However, the trick to dreams with Zephyra is that she tends to take people to their subconscious mind. The way I describe Vanoss’ subconscious is generally the scheme that I’ve always imagined for a person’s subconscious. Bear with me, it can seem confusing but hopefully the point gets across.
> 
> Also, one of my original characters is included in the majority of this chapter. She only appears every once in a while so she is in no way a main character. Her name is Zephyra and I would like to mention that, by including her, I’m not including myself. Zephyra is simply a character from my original story and I’ve used her name as my usernames for basically everything. In fact, the five books I’ve been writing previous to this are based around her. I’ll explain more at the end of the chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

    **Vanoss' Perspective:**

   Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before I woke up again. However, this time, I wasn’t in the real world. My surroundings were much too dark and I couldn’t sense any walls or barriers to signify that I was in a room either. There was nothing around me; nothing but an empty abyss.

   A mild sense of despair and claustrophobia threatened to overwhelm me as I floated through the darkness. It took all of my effort to suppress the feeling and focus on my breathing while I waited. At one point, I tried to go back to sleep, but the pressure on my mind wouldn’t allow me to.

   Eventually, there came a loud clang and a room illuminated by a dull yellow hue rose up around me. With the light, physical images and sensations were brought to life. Even though the click of claws on hard floors echoed through my mind, I was never more grateful to be on the hard cement floor of my subconscious than I was in that moment.

   The room that my subconscious brought up was tall and wide. The ceiling was so tall it was almost nonexistent. The only wall I could see stood on my left side covered in screens which contained images that shifted every few seconds. Beside that, several thousands of Memory Cabinets which held all of my memories faded of forgotten tales. Everything else around me was nothing but an abyss that surrounded me on three sides of the room. Despite the darkness, the small platform with the wall of screens felt comforting to me. 

   After a moment, the pacing stopped and, with it, the clicking of long claws. I could feel the moment that the large she-wolf turned towards me.

   “I know you’re awake.” A low rumble resounded against the walls. I let out a sigh that vibrated straight through my core. 

   “Which means you know I was sleeping beforehand.”

   “That’s about the only thing I expect from you these days.” The voice quipped. I shot up onto my feet and glared at her.

   Zephyra Evelynn, the Kafaira of Noanric, was a baffling person. She had a long lost history that I didn’t care much about. The only thing I knew was that she was as ancient as she was vexing. She always came to me with problems that required me to take responsibility and I absolutely abhorred it. However, I understood where her reputation came from every time I met her. 

   Zephyra was part of something called the “Original Generation”. This was a term used for the demons that were born and created on the Original Planet billions of years ago. Most of the Original Generation was made up of Demon-Wolves. Very few of that generation made it to Earth and survived the impact. Not many of the ones who did survive were alive in modern day times. Some of them died but others simply hid their origins and blended in with the crowds.

   Zephyra was probably the most famous person from the Original Generation. It helped that, because of her blood, she was taller, stronger, and faster than most demons on Earth and, therefore, more noticeable in any crowd. Zephyra’s experience on the Original Planet, plus her own years of experience on Earth, gave her an incredible sense of diplomacy and strategy that was unique to her Generation.

   This, and many more reasons, made me extremely wary of her. She was more intimidating in the darkness as well. Her fur rippled with the shadows of hardened muscles and- even though I couldn’t fully see her in the dim light- I occasionally caught glimpses of the many scars bestowed upon the she-wolf by thousands of battles that had been long forgotten. 

   On top of this, Zephyra usually towered over almost every demon on Earth which made her already much larger than me. At the moment, she stood as tall as my chest, but even that was terrifying. Her decreased size was a political ploy anyway and it took away nothing from her domineering stature.

   All of this plus her eyes made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. The dark blue orbs glowed their imposing midnight shades as she continued pacing in front of me, her tail lashing.

   There was a low sigh that swept through my mind, the sound reminding me of the wind that had passed by during my time on the shore of the river earlier that night. 

   “I don’t mean to intrude,” Zephyra started, “but it’s easier to get into your mind without blasting my way through when you’re asleep.”

    “ _You shouldn’t be in my mind in the first place_.” I thought to myself, knowing full well that the she-wolf across from me would hear it. Even in her physical form, Zephyra was a mind reader so, of course, the wolf simply flicked her ears at my “private” comment and scoffed.

   “I had warned you already. Don’t blame me. Plus, it’s about the only way I can contact you without traveling all the way to your territory.”

   “Right, like that would be such a damn inconvenience for the ancient wolf who traveled across the universe just to find this planet.” I growled.

   The silence that followed my remark was almost deafening. I looked up to see that Zephyra had stopped her pacing long enough to fix me with a solemn expression. I had to remind myself that she was physically blind despite the fact that she seemed to be staring into my very soul.

    It was said that, in an unfortunate attack on the Original Planet, Zephyra was thrown off of a cliff and fell to her death. Somehow, she survived but with severe physical limitations to things like her eyesight. In one of the many legends about her, I heard that the she-wolf had studied her own molecular composition for years after the incident that made her blind. Eventually, she figured out how to rearrange all of her cells so that she could use a form of echolocation in order to "cure" her blindness.

   After a moment, the wolf huffed and shook her head.

   “If only you knew kid.” She growled as she continued pacing, her ears flicking to and fro. “And, trust me. Being inside your mind is as troublesome for me as it is for you.”

   “I doubt that.” I responded sarcastically. The wolf growled and snapped her jaws irritably.

   “Whatever. Anyway …” Zephyra drawled with a stern glance at me. “I have a task for you.”

   I groaned and flopped back down on the ground. “Why me?”

   “Because your pack is the closest to the problem.”

   I tilted my head up to glare at the wolf again, my eyes catching on a long scar across her back. “Let me guess. By close, you mean about 200 miles away from us.”

    Zephyra’s lips curled slightly and her tail stood straight out from her body, confirming my suspicions. I rolled my eyes and stood to go to the control panel and the screens off to our left.

    On a long panel underneath all the screens, tons of blinking controls lined themselves in sections that controlled different functions of my body. The screens showed various statuses concerning my health, with a dark screen in the middle that normally showed what I saw when my eyes were open. 

   Next to the control panel sat a metal post with a chain attached to it. At the end of the chain lay a giant dappled leopard much bigger than me. One bright golden eye traced every move Zephyra made but, for the most part, he stayed still.

   Zephyra followed me over to the panel and sat down as I checked through all the screens to make sure everything was running properly. After I checked, I sighed and turned back to the overgrown she-wolf.

   “So, what is this task that you have for me?”

   Zephyra blinked at me with a tilt of her head. “I have an important mission for you Evan.”

   I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips. “Yeah, you said that much. Now, what is the task?”

   The she-wolf stayed quiet for a moment more before standing and walking away. “Somewhere near your territory, just outside the town of Panlyog, there is an abrasion; a secret base where humans and demons alike have been conducting experiments on demons. They capture them, take them to the base, and test all sorts of things on them.

    "We have reason to believe that they are using a newly developed paralysis poison to help capture their targets and that they are in the process of studying demons in order to figure out how their brain works.

   "Of course, this is illegal in Noanric for several reasons. Demon related experiments have been outlawed for years and tests conducted by humans specifically can be punished by death. Unfortunately, because the punishments are so extreme, the Council of Law requires that I gather evidence of these suspicions before I am allowed to launch a rescue mission.

   "So far, my sources have determined that there are over a hundred imprisoned demons held at this base. Although the imprisonment of demons is illegal, I can’t act on this alone. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to try the humans for their second felony, the experimentation on demons, until I had more evidence. By the time I am able to gather the information I need, the humans could very well move their base elsewhere or alter the evidence. There is also the possibility that the first trial could finish before I gather such evidence, and I wouldn’t be able to add another felony because it’s for the same issue.”

   “So, you need someone to gather specific evidence of these experiments so that you can try the humans for all their crimes instead of one.” I surmised slowly. Zephyra nodded.

   “I need someone to find evidence of the poison, as well as the kind of experiments that they are conducting. There has to be details for me to try them for all of their felonies efficiently.”

   “It’ll take a while to build such a detailed case though.” I wondered out loud before my mind could give me away.

   “I realize that this kind of thing takes time and it means that more demons will be imprisoned while we are trying to build a case." Zephyra conceded with a bow of her head. "However, our information indicates that this base is part of a larger operation. Last time you did something like this, I don't think you understood the caliber with which these organizations work." 

   I grimaced at the memory and turned my head away.

   "I know that more than one of your pack members remembers that case." Zephyra acknowledged my look of disgust with a sympathetic flick of her tail. "Since we first met, these organizations have created several bases around the continent. Each one of them seems to be testing something different. This one is only a part of the bigger picture.

   "I have people already building cases against the other bases, but this one is my main priority at the moment. The humans are a great and tragically beautiful race, but if their curiosity has their way, they may be able to imprison all demons and make them subject to their will. Even the demons who serve them are in danger.

   "Demon-Wolves especially have dealt with this kind of oppression once before. I believe I speak for all of the Original Generation when I say that I’d rather not have a repeat of the Desolation.” Zephyra growled, her blue eyes glowing fiercely in the dim yellow light of my mind.

   “They have to be stopped." She continued, her ears drawing back in a mixture of anger and sadness. "I know that this requires sacrifices, especially for those demons that we won’t be able to get to in time, but it’s necessary for all of us to survive and for our freedom.”

    A sense of sorrow permeated from the phantom, now seated in the center of my mind. For several moments, Zephyra didn't speak. Instead, she stared at the ground with her head turned away from me. From her, I received a deep seated regret. The guilt coming off of the wolf’s pelt was almost palpable.

   “I would save all of them if I could, but even with all my power and influence, I can’t do much for the ones that are already being oppressed. I can only improve the conditions for the generations to come.”

   Sadness and guilt crept through my heart as I watched Zephyra slouch. She was a strong wolf; there was no doubt about that. However, her true feelings sometimes showed whenever she visited me like this. In the subconscious mind, I knew that I was weak because I was stripped of all privacy, but the same was somewhat true even for someone as strong as Zephyra.

   This was what I thought about every time someone voiced their concerns about how powerful and dangerous Zephyra was. She wasn’t all-powerful; this proved it. She had doubts and insecurities, just as every leader does. However, her responsibilities were much more taxing than mine, and there was more at stake if she messed up. I had nine others to take care of, plus the occasional rogues. Zephyra had an entire continent of over a billion people to take care of.

   As far as I understood it, the continent was run by several “Councils”. Each Council was in charge of something, or was created for a specific purpose. There were the Councils of Law, of Human Representatives, Demon Representatives, Natural Resources, Land Management, Foreign Relations, Tribal/Clan/Pack Management, and thousands of others that all helped Zephyra manage her tasks. Yet, they all answered to her.

   At the end of the day, Zephyra was in charge of all of these things. The most important of these tasks was making sure that demons and humans got along. She had done a good job at cleaning up crime between the two races but I had never realized how much of a failure she must feel like as the leader of a continent that still had tons of interracial conflicts. She had so much responsibility resting on her shoulders and here I was being a douche about my one little task. 

   I sighed and ran hand through my hair.

   “Sometimes we take it for granted, don’t we?” Zephyra murmured. I looked up to see one glittering blue eye peering over at me over her fuzzy shoulder. My lips pursed as I looked away.

   “That, and sometimes I forget that you can hear my thoughts.” I responded, shifting on my feet.

   “Does it bother you?” She asked with genuine interest.

  I looked up again to see her massive head swing more towards me with a fixed gaze. Her movement looked almost alien and it took me a moment to see that her right eye was turning darker than before.

   I shifted uncomfortably and shrugged with a nervous smile. “Yeah but I can deal with it. I’m a big boy.”

   She nodded as she stood and walked towards the yawning abyss on the opposite side of the screens. “Of course. I can always dial it back anytime you need as long as you ask. However, right now I must be going. Someone seems to be sending me a message.”

   I shivered and prepared for the pressure to finally lift from my mind, but Zephyra stopped just at the border of my conscience. A few moments passed before I worked up the courage to question her.

   “What else do you need?”

   “The message isn’t for me. It’s for you…” She whispered in an oddly quiet voice. Then, with a sickening twist of her head, she turned and fixed me with a pair of demonic eyes.

  The color of her pupils and her irises became inverted as her shoulders tensed into a ball of apprehension and her mouth dropped open slightly. Her now glowing blue pupils started shifting rapidly in her skull and yet she seemed to be staring at one stationary thing: me. Her head leaned to the side as if someone was telling her a secret and, after several moments, her pupils stopped to look directly at me.

   “ **Soon enough you will meet, a fox with extremely agile feet. He will dance around like the morning sun, but my poor dear, he will be left with none. Beware the red wolf who stalks the night. He’ll be sure to give you tons of fright. Beware the blue demon who haunts your mind. He will give you relief divine.** ”

   And with those words, she vanished.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that is Zephyra. I apologize if the story veered away from the BBS crew for a moment but this is about the only time Zephyra appears like this and this chapter has basically set up everything you need to know for the rest of this fanfiction.  
> I didn’t want to include much about Zephyra, but she has cameos in every single one of the stories that I write, whether they are my stories or fanfictions. She appears every once in a while in the form of a prophet or mediator at times but she doesn’t interfere too much with any of the stories besides that. 
> 
> Something I would like to mention about her is that, yes, she is normally taller than anyone on Earth, but every Demon-Wolf has the ability to manipulate the form of their body. If they want, they can add muscle to make them stronger or make their bodies more lithe and agile so that they are faster. Not many Demon-Wolves from the Earth generations can do this for longer than a few minutes at a time. It’s similar to a cheetah’s stamina in the sense that it can only be used in bursts of energy.
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said when I started, there are certain dynamics and conditions that I will have to introduce because some of these are of my own design.
> 
> For this chapter, the most relevant information you need is that not everyone has a subgender. In fact, sub genders are extremely rare and are therefore seen as an imperfect anomaly. More often than not, people with sub genders are discriminated against and kicked out of packs because having a sub gender is considered a disorder. Since it was born by human experiments, people with a sub gender are also correlated with signs of torture and manipulation.
> 
> In terms of style, this will be the first time that I switch perspectives. Sometimes, the story will be told from one person’s point of view for a while, but sometimes it switches, so just be aware. 
> 
> Later on, Nogla will eat something called Emnem. Emnem is a kind of candy that isn’t altogether rare but most demons don’t like it because it’s too sweet. And yes. It’s based on M&Ms and is pronounced the same way. The dialogue where Nogla is talking about this actually comes from Terroriser’s video “Terminated clips: Snake Street Magic…”. Sometimes, I will use actual clips from the squad’s videos to help me with dialogue and this is one of those times.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Moo’s Perspective:**

_The next day_

    Mornings weren’t exactly my favorite things in the world, but they were when I woke up like this. The moment I opened my eyes, I came face to face with a mop of fuzzy brown hair. My arms were wrapped around something firm and warm. I relished in the warmth of our surroundings as I buried my nose into the crook of the neck in front of me. Brian’s scent was one of my most favorite things in the universe and the mornings where we woke up in each other’s arms were mornings that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

    At times like these, I felt grateful that Brian didn’t have a sub gender. Even though he acted like an alpha a lot, Brian had no preference for being a submissive or a dominant- although having a sub gender is a lot more complicated than that. To me, this meant that he didn’t care if he was the big spoon or the little spoon. Personally, I didn’t mind either- that’s what the beta sub gender was meant to do after all- but I loved having my options open.

    My heart swelled as I felt the body in my arms shift and sink further into my embrace. In response, I threw a leg over Brian's hips and squeezed him lightly. He gave me an incredulous groan and slowly turned his head back towards me. I watched as he took in a deep breath and let it out, the first sign of him waking up.

    “Good morning sleepy head.” I murmured into his neck. Brian squirmed a little in my grasp and groaned again.

    “I don’t wanna wake up.” The werecat grumbled sleepily. I sighed.

    “Does that mean you’re not going to help me make breakfast?”

    One brilliant blue eye cracked open to look at me before he turned away and muttered a muffled, “Hell no.”

    I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re a dick.”

    Brian smirked and snuggled up against me even further. “I know. That’s why you love me.”

   For a moment, the werecat in my arms said nothing else, but I could see the wheels turning in his head. I took a moment to admire the stubble across his jaw as he squeezed his eyes shut and pursed his lips. Sure enough, Brian's cerulean blue eyes opened again and he rolled over in my arms to face me.

   “You know, I could make it up to you if you stayed with me for the morning.” He whispered conspiratorially. I smirked down at him and chuckled.

   “That sounds tempting… But-”, I quickly released him and rolled over to sit up, “I’m not sure I can spend the _entire_ morning in bed with you.”

   There was a pause and then a quiet, “Two hours.”

    I turned to see Brian lying in a burrito of blankets. A pair of blazing blue eyes glared up at me from over the brown comforter. “One hour.” I countered.

    His glare intensified and he seemed to think for a moment. “One and a half.” He paused. “That’s enough time, right?” He muttered mostly to himself.

    I smiled lightly. “Alright. Half hour. Take it or leave it.”

    The sheets shifted as Brian sat up and scowled at me. “One hour. Take it or leave it.”

    I smirked and turned my body to face him completely. “Ten minutes. Final offer.”

    He paused before letting out a defeated sigh. “Fine…”

    I chuckled before lying down next to him again. He stayed sitting and glared down at me. “Did you know t’at you’re also a dick?” Brian grumbled.

    “Yep. That’s why we get along.” I replied smoothly.

    He rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his messy mop of hair. “Ten minutes huh? T’at’s definitely not enough time though.” He muttered under his breath.

    The idea of what he was referring to hit me as soon as he said that. Suddenly, I became an awkward, embarrassed mess and tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible. Sure, Brian and I had done _that_ plenty of times before, but it was still a fairly new concept to me that Brian was my boyfriend. We could do  _that_ whenever we wanted. Even now though, I felt the small haunting twinge of insecurity in my chest that kept me from acknowledging what he was suggesting.

    “Brockward”, Brian sing-songed from his spot above me. I blushed at the nickname and looked up to see him watching me with a sympathetic smile. He understood what was going through my head and, somehow, that warmed my heart enough to ignore my insecurity.

    “Shut up.” I huffed, burying my face in the blankets.

    It didn’t take long for Brian to lie down again and pull the blankets away from my face. I glared at him as soon as my face was free. He simply smiled and threw an arm around me.

    If there was one thing that I got a lot of in this relationship, it was definitely cuddles. Brian was nothing but a walking, talking cuddle machine. This was something that I appreciated because, even if I was too awkward or insecure to initiate anything with him, even a kiss, he understood me.

    As a beta, it was easy to take care of Brian’s mental health since that came with the job. However, there are still some things besides mental health that need to be taken care of in order to maintain a healthy relationship. Communication of my feelings was something that I'd always felt I needed to work on. Luckily, Brian understood that part of me as well and he was always very patient with me.

    Admittedly, we stayed in bed longer than 10 minutes but the hallway was quiet which meant that no one was awake anyway. Brian and I drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, drawn to each other’s arms.

    I’m not sure how long I spent trying to convince myself to get up and go cook breakfast for the pack, but it was ten in the morning when I twisted around to look at the clock on the bedside table. With a sigh, I rubbed my hands over my face and slowly peeled myself away from the comfort of Brian’s arms. He let out a low growl of displeasure and tried to pull me back as soon as I made the slightest move away from him.

    “Brian. You know I gotta get up.” I muttered.

    He opened one bleary eye to glare at me. “It hasn’t been ten minutes yet.”

    “It’s definitely been longer than ten minutes babe.” I muttered fondly.

    His expression dropped for a moment before he broke out into a lopsided grin. “You called me babe.”

    I rolled my eyes and tried to pull away again as heat crept up to fill my cheeks.

    “Are you sure it’s been ten minutes?” Brian whined.

    I let out an exasperated yet amused groan. “Yes. It’s been ten minutes.”

    Brian lifted himself up and leaned over me far enough to see the clock, and then some. He paused for a second to glare at the clock. Then, before I could suspect anything, he dropped down on top of me and sprawled out across my side in an effort to discourage me from leaving.

    Before he could fully pin me down, I wiggled out from underneath him, threw the blankets off, and jumped up from the bed. I turned just in time to side step the werecat as he reached out to grab me. He barely saved himself from face planting onto the ground.

    I chuckled lightly as he retreated back into the blankets and scowled at me from his burrow.

    “Outsmarted yet again. I think that’s 4-0 this week in my favor. I’m doin’ pretty good.” I patted myself on the back as I walked over to one of the dressers in my room to pick out some clothes.

    “Oh whatever. It was 5-2 in _my_ favor last week so I figured I’d give you some pity points.” The burrito grumbled.

    I turned to raise an eyebrow at him as I threw on a shirt and some pants. “What’s that? Someone doesn’t want pancakes for breakfast? That’s alright. More for the rest of us.”

    “Hey! T’at’s not fair! At least make me one.” Brian whined adorably from his place on the bed.

    I crossed my arms and glared at him. “What’s the magic word?”

    Brian sighed and scooted down further into his blankets. “Please.”

    “There’s a good boy.” I cooed as I walked over to him. He gave me a disgusted look just before I kissed him lightly on the forehead. “I’ll make one pancake just for you.”

    “What if I wanted two?” The blue eyed demon asked with a quirked eyebrow.

    “Then, you should’ve asked for two.” I responded easily.

    “And yet no one believes me when I say you’re a bigger dick than I am.” Brian grumbled as I moved towards the door.

    “I’m only nice to them ‘cause they say please.” I winked at him and walked out the door, a baffled cry following me out.

    I went to the bathroom with a self satisfied smile before heading downstairs to make breakfast. At first, I was tempted to make the pack oatmeal or cereal and leave that out for them. That was normally my go-to on days that I took Brian up on his offer or when I simply felt too lazy to do anything besides watch TV.

    However, I figured that I couldn’t go back up to hang out with Brian after fighting so hard to leave and make breakfast. Plus, I had promised him a pancake. So, I decided on making a full course meal. Making big meals gave me time to focus on cooking and space out for a while. No one else was up to interrupt me either.

    I went to the fridge to find what I needed for everything. Looking through it, I felt grateful that there was supposed to be a grocery run later that night. We were running low on some things. Luckily, with a quick glance through everything, I deducted that there would be enough food for breakfast and lunch today before we were in trouble.

    Perhaps that was one of the downsides to living with so many people. Cooking for ten grown men never failed to be difficult; especially because their diets were so diverse. Not to mention they were all picky mother truckers. I still enjoyed my time spent making food in the kitchen though.

    I grabbed an apron from the pantry and, after some preparation and dishwashing, began cooking. The smell of eggs, bacon, and pancakes slowly permeated the air. Everything finished cooking about twenty minutes later. I snacked on the bacon as they finished and put everything else on a plate to put in the oven in order to keep them warm.

    “That smells amazing.” A familiar scent wafted into the kitchen under the thick aroma of bacon. I turned slowly to see Vanoss standing in the archway that led to the stairs wearing an all gray outfit.

    “Why thank you. I try.” I responded easily.

    There was a huff of laughter before I heard the wood floor beneath us creak and the air next to me shifted. I glanced sideways to see a pair of arms stretched out towards me at full length. A smile danced across my lips as I set down the spatula I'd been using, wiped off my hands on my apron, and turned to hug the alpha.

    Despite Evan being slightly shorter than me, I got the distinct impression that he was the one in charge here. Originally, when I first met him and we decided to become a pack, just the two of us at first, I was intimidated by the idea of being a subordinate to anyone. After all, that was why I hated my original tribe.

    Evan was different though. It was his tradition to keep the pack healthy by seeing to each individual’s needs. This was a perfect example of that.

    No matter what, Evan always hugged the first person he saw in the morning. Whoever that person was depended on when he woke up but, generally, I was the first one he saw. On the other hand, members like Nogla or Panda, who slept at random hours of the day, rarely got these sorts of hugs.

    I enjoyed the tradition though and Evan was a good friend. He acted tough whenever there were pack matters to attend to or when we were out in public. In general, he was a tad overbearing with his muscular arms and resting bitch face. No one would ever realize that he was the most mischievous and childish one out of all of us or that he gave the best hugs.

    In reality, he was just a buff teddy bear.

    After a moment, Vanoss let go and leaned back to look at me curiously. “What were you just thinking about?”

    I smirked. “I was thinking that you act scary but you’re really not as intimidating as you pretend.”

    He glared at me and spun on his heel so that he was facing the fridge. “I take back my statement about the food smelling delicious. It smells like pooooooop.” He shot back, popping the “p” at the end of his sentence as he opened the fridge and pulled out the last of the milk.

    “Sometimes I swear, you’re a child in a grown man’s body.” I snarked.

    “And what if I am?” He gave me a mischievous wink before dancing around the counter and sitting on the other side of the island with the half-gallon of milk in his hands.

    “Hey!” I pointed the spatula at him just as he took the cap off and put the jug to his lips. He stopped and looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

   "You better not be drinking that straight out of the carton.” I growled. He looked down at the jug before slowly turning his chair so that his back was facing me.

    “Noooooo… Who would do such a thing?” He responded innocently. Then, I watched as he raised the gallon of milk to his mouth and took a huge swig.

    “That is disgusting!” I yelled.

    “That is mahogany!” A horribly high pitched voice shouted from the stairs.

   Evan jumped a little and looked sideways towards the sound. I rolled my eyes and smiled as Scotty came around the corner of the fridge.

   “Who’s disgusting?” He asked in his normal voice while grabbing a muffin from yesterday’s breakfast off the counter.

    “Our fearless leader over here is chugging the milk straight from the carton.” I informed him with a flick of the spatula in my hand.

    Scotty rose an eyebrow at Vanoss who had restarted his mission and was gulping down the last half-gallon of milk. I watched in astonishment as the milk quickly disappeared.

   As soon as it was empty, Evan slammed the empty jug on the counter and made a loud, sarcastic “ah” sound. Scotty laughed and reached across the counter to give the alpha a high five. I smacked Scot lightly on the shoulder. He gave me a guilty smile  but not before receiving his high-five.

    “I swear you guys will be the death of me.” I muttered.

   Evan belched loudly in response and received yet another high five from Scotty. I was so focused on the two in front of me that I didn’t notice that Panda had come wandering in from the living room on the other side of the kitchen. He stared at Vanoss in surprise for a second before also giving him a high five.

    “Don’t encourage him!” I reprimanded them.

   Panda and Scotty both gave me an apologetic look. Vanoss, on the other hand, looked so smug that I had to resist the urge to reach across the counter and smack him.

   “You’re going out to get another jug tonight.” I ordered, pointing the spatula at him again.

    “We already had plans to go shopping today anyway so-” He shrugged nonchalantly.

    I rolled my eyes with a small smile and turned back to my task of making breakfast while the other three in the room continued talking and joking with one another.

    Admittedly, I was a little surprised that Panda was up so early, but he had adopted a decent sleeping schedule recently. Decent being that he stayed up until two in the morning and woke up between 10 and 12. Most of the pack had started this schedule as well.

   Ironically, we were only good about sleep schedules during the summer because all of us liked staying up late, but none of us liked sleeping past noon because of the heat. In the winter, all of our sleep schedules bounced around, some of us sleeping a full night and staying awake all day, and the others sleeping periodically throughout the day and the night.

    I pulled out the food that had already been cooked from the oven while I waited for the last few things to finish cooking. Slowly, I maneuvered the food over to the counter to be prepared for plates.

   At some point, Marcel appeared next to me and began gathering plates and silverware for everyone. I smiled and shoulder checked him once I noticed he was there. He gave me a smile in return.

    “Where are Mini and Wildcat?” I asked him as we worked.

    “I think they’re both still sleeping. Mini still smelt sick when Evan and I got home last night. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in bed for a while longer.” He responded softly.

    I nodded. “I was wondering how he was doing. He’s in Wildcat’s room though, isn’t he?”

    Marcel chuckled. “Is that even a question? They may have their fights but you know as well as I do that they come back together eventually. We both know how protective Tyler gets whenever Mini is sick or injured.”

    I sighed. That didn't really answer my question but he had a point. “Yes, I know. They just worry me sometimes.”

    Marcel nodded.

   It became apparent to me at that point that we were both worried for different reasons. Mini's three day disappearance last week had shaken the pack. However, most of them were more worried about Mini's physical health now because of his cold. After Mini told them that he and Wildcat had been fighting, everyone sort of accepted his vanishing act.

   I knew better than that. I knew something they didn't know and the very thought set my nerves on end. My train of thought was interrupted when Marcel spoke again.

   “So, I assume you won today’s round of tug-of-war with Brian.”

    I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Is that even a question Marcel?” I responded in a mock version of his voice. He smiled with a shake of his head.

     “What’s the score this week?” He asked with a sideways glance at me.

    I smirked. “4-0.”

    “My man!” Marcel raised a hand to give me a high-five. I indulged him with a smile.

    Once we set out the plates, we filled them with food for everyone that seemed to be awake at the moment. We made sure to set aside food for Wildcat, Mini, and Terroriser who still had yet to make an appearance.

    After everyone got a plate, we all sat down at the table to eat and join in on our usual banter. It was slightly less noisy without Nogla or Terroriser yelling at everyone but we still maintained a bit of noise between Marcel and Jiggly.

    “Speaking of which,” I piped up from my spot at the table, “when are Lui and Nogla supposed to be back?”

    “I think they said they hoped to be back by today.” Scotty responded around a mouthful of food.

    “Yeah, that’s if they don’t get into trouble again.” Panda commented, eliciting chuckles from everyone at the table.

    “Well hopefully Lui will stop him this time.” Marcel replied before letting out an overly exasperated sigh. “Probably not though.” Everyone shook their heads and smiled at the memory of the last time Lui and Nogla went out on their own.

    Apparently, they had stopped by a store to get some stuff for the house and the shopkeeper there had been extremely rude to them. So, as a prank, they put glue all over the man’s chair so that he got stuck to it the moment that he sat down. They came running home with humans on their tails. Evan had been furious until he realized that the humans weren’t hunters. In fact, after he listened to Lui and Nogla’s side of the story, he started laughing and, just like that, all was forgiven.

    However, I knew that the event still bothered him. Evan held himself responsible for the actions of the pack as well as their safety. Being discovered by the humans of Panlyog was one of his biggest fears. Letting his pack members interact with humans without his aid came next in line as another one of his biggest fears.

    Even now, I could see his shoulders tensing and relaxing at random intervals. It probably didn’t help that, not only did he have two members out in the field, he also had a member sick with a self-inflicted cold and an argument within the pack lines that he had to keep an eye on. Yet, somehow, today, he looked more anxious than before. I made a mental note to check on him later.

    When everyone finished their breakfast, we all played rock-paper-scissors to see who would have to clean it all up. To my relief, Scotty and Panda lost out to cleaning the kitchen. Sometimes, I ended up losing so I would have to cook _and_ clean which was a task that I wasn’t up for some days.

    Leaving Scotty and Panda to complain about doing chores and Marcel and Evan to watch movies, I headed upstairs to find out what the others were doing. My first priority was to check on Mini and Wildcat.

    I knocked on Tyler’s door first. When no one responded, I knocked again. Still, no one answered.

   With a considerate hum, I moved onto Mini’s room and continued knocking there, ignoring the feeling of anxiety in my chest.

   It didn't take long for a response to come from Mini's room. Eventually, a noisy thump sounded from the other side of the door, accompanied by a frustrated growl.

   After a moment, there came the sound of claws scraping across the doorframe. The sound persisted and I watched as the door knob slowly turned: once… twice… three times. I tried to open the door from my side, but it was locked.

    Bewildered, I waited until the door finally swung open to reveal a pissed off black and white tiger. The smell of angry alpha stung at my nostrils. Instantly, my beta instincts kicked in and my body began producing a calming pheromone to ease the intimidating alpha who’s shoulders easily stood above my waist.

    There was a moment where the tiger stood in the doorway and didn’t make a move. Then, his scent mellowed and I was finally able to realize that Mini’s scent faintly drifted out from the room. It didn’t smell recent at all.

    “ _Sorry Brock._ ” Tyler muttered in a voice that sounded nothing short of animalistic. In fact, his voice didn’t even sound like it belonged to him at all. I supposed that that was what happened when a person allowed their body to be taken over by their demonic counterparts.

    Concerned, I cleared my throat and asked in an uncertain voice, “What happened?”

    The alpha scowled. “ _I came to see Mini last night. We both fell asleep in there, but, this morning, he was gone._ ”

   The tiger lifted one of his massive paws to show a half shredded piece of paper stuck in between his claws. I reached down and gently pulled it off.

    In Mini’s handwriting, it read: “ _I’m going to see Kryoz and Smii7y. I want to see if they know what’s going on with us. Please be patient until I get back. I’ll be home soon._ ”

    “‘I want to see if they know what’s going on with us.’” I read the line aloud. The tiger in front of me refused to make eye contact.

   “Tyler. Does this mean what I think it does?” I inquired uneasily. He stayed resolutely silent. “I already know what’s been going on Tyler. Please don’t try to hide anything from me.” The tiger snarled nervously and glared at me. “What? You’re not the only one Mini confides in. I can smell it on you anyway. You’re stuck.”

   There was a long moment where we both just glared at each other. Mini and I stuck together a lot. Months ago, the other beta had told me about his problem with his subgender counterpart and he'd been very open with me about it since then. Of course, Tyler probably hadn't known this, so the flicker of doubt and fear in his eyes was to be expected.

    “ _Sometimes, I think you’re too good at your job._ ” Tyler finally growled.

    “How long?” I asked curtly.

    A low rumble vibrated the air around me. “ _Since this morning. When I woke up, I was all cat, and no claws._ ”

    “So you were stuck before you even woke up?” I asked, slightly taken aback.

   Recently, both Mini and Wildcat had started getting stuck in their animal forms. It doesn't sound all that bad from an outsider's point of view, but every demon knows how bad it is to be stuck in animal form. Getting stuck is dangerous for everybody involved. It means that a person is reduced to their most basic instincts and, in that case, can become a danger to their pack and to themselves.

   I'd heard many stories about demons getting stuck and going feral. Going feral meant they had no control over their bodies and their only instinct was to kill everything.

   There had been many stories of massacres happening because a demon got "stuck". The worst part was that it normally didn't matter if they were facing a friend or family member. A stuck/feral demon would kill anyone in their way if given the chance.

   Personally, I'd never seen anyone go feral nor had I met a borderline feral in my life. That was until I met Mini and Tyler. Neither of them were at the dangerous stage yet, but it was bound to get their at some point.

    Tyler cringed and sat back on his haunches, his tail lashing back and forth. “ _I know. It’s bad_. _Plus, I got stuck in that stupid room all day ‘cause I couldn’t calm down enough to open the door and I couldn’t yell for help in case_ they _found out._ ”

    “So, Mini must have woken up to this,” I made a gesture at the tiger, “and decided to leave for help.” The tiger flicked his ears at me in irritation.

   “It makes sense. Smii7y is a Sub Gender Studies major. Even if he doesn’t know what’s happening, Kryoz might be able to figure out how to reverse it temporarily.” I huffed irritably and shook my head. “There was a reason we weren’t going to do that though.”

    “ _You’re telling me_.” Tyler growled, his voice sounding better the more time he spent outside of Mini’s room. Silently, I prayed that no one else would smell him or come upstairs to see him as he was.

   Part of me felt terrible for leaving the pack in the dark. We didn’t tell them for fear that they would panic. However, these incidents were getting more frequent by the days.

   In fact, that's exactly what had happened last week, when Mini disappeared. He got stuck, refused to come to the pack for fear of hurting them, and turned up three days later, hungry and down with a cold. Neither of us told Vanoss or the rest of the pack the truth behind why he disappeared. We simply made up a lie that Mini and Wildcat had gotten into a fight, which was only half of what actually happened.

    I shook my head and ran my hands over my face. Mini and I had agreed not to tell anyone in the pack that him and his boyfriend had been having issues with their subgender counterparts. This time though, they hadn’t seen the obstruction coming, which made it worse.

    “Evan can’t find out.”

    The tiger’s blue eyes looked up at me gravely. “ _I know._ ”

    I folded my arms and shook my head. “It would be easy to just walk out without a word if you didn’t wreak of angry alpha.” A warning growl rumbled from the tiger’s throat, to which I rolled my eyes.

    “So, you can’t turn back at all?”

     Tyler shook his head. “ _I tried once I realized what happened this morning. It still hasn’t worked._ ”

    “Try it now.” I suggested.

    The tiger closed his eyes and shifted on his feet. He stayed like that for several heartbeats, but nothing happened. With a growl, he shook his head. “ _It’s no use. He won’t let me._ ”

    I nodded. “I kind of figured. Do you know what he wants?”

    The tiger sighed. “ _He wants what he always wants._ ” His blue eyes pulsed anxiously as he glanced around. _“I have to find Mini._ ”

    I watched the tiger get up and shake himself roughly. “Ya know,” I started to say with caution, “I’m not sure that that’s a good idea. You could end up getting him stuck as well.”

    Tyler blinked and hummed considerably before shaking his head. “ _As long as he doesn’t fall asleep or transform, he should be safe. That’s how we survived before. Plus, maybe the tiger will release me or maybe Kryoz will have a solution like you said._ ”

    It was true that they had both gotten out of their animal forms before by being around each other. However, the danger that the situation could turn from bad to worse made me wary. Mini and Tyler had yet to get stuck at the same time, but it was only a matter of time. It was only a matter of time until they...

    “ _It’s about the only choice we have._ ” The tiger grumbled. I swallowed a ball of nerves building in my throat and nodded slowly.

    “Unfortunately, I think you might be right." I conceded. Tyler noticed my look of concern and turned his head away. He was hiding just as many fears as I was. I could see them swirling through his eyes as he stared at the window down the hall.

   "The problem is, how are we going to sneak you out past the others?” I asked in an effort to distract him. The tiger blinked before turning an inquiring gaze towards me.

    “ _Are they even awake?_ ”

    I couldn’t help but smile a little at Tyler’s obliviousness. “Yes. I made breakfast so they all came down to eat besides Brian. Everyone's awake… even Panda.”

    The tiger’s eyes widened a little. “ _Wow. So I’m missing the party."_

    I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much… I made some food for everyone. Your’s and Mini’s are in the oven still.”

    The tiger watched me with subdued gratitude, the tip of his tail flicking lightly.

    “Anyway,” I cleared my throat and shifted awkwardly, “you need to get out of here and find Mini without Vanoss finding out.” I mused. The tiger rumbled considerably.

    “ _I could always jump to the trees._ ” He suggested after a moment.

    “From what? The roof?” I asked in disbelief.

    The tiger nodded his striped head. “ _Why not?_ ”

    I gaped at him for a moment. “Are you serious?”

    “ _Well, yeah. I saw Scotty do it one time. I could probably do it._ ”

    I rolled my eyes. “That’s just stupid.”

    “ _Do you have a better idea?_ ” Tyler countered with an impatient look.

    “You could climb out the window?” I replied, uncertain.

    “ _You mean scale a 90 degree wall from two stories up? In this form? I doubt I could make it without breaking something let alone crawl my way out of the window._ ”

    I shifted on my feet. “Well… at least a two story drop with a little bit of support could be better than a three story drop straight out of a tree.”

    The tiger sighed. “ _You do have a point_ … _I guess._ ”

    “It’s about the only choice we got.” I mentioned over my shoulder as I walked down the hallway to the window Tyler had been staring at moments ago. With a few deft movements, I unlocked it and pulled it open. The sound of heavy paws followed me.

    “ _Are you sure this is safe?_ ” Tyler asked as he poked his giant head out of the window.

    I shrugged. “Probably not. Oh well though, right?”

    The tiger fixed me with his dubious blue eyes. “ _Welp. Here goes nothing._ ”

    I shifted out of the way to allow the tiger past.

    Tyler was already tall in human form and his tiger form was no exception. His shoulders almost clipped the top of the window as he pulled himself up onto the windowsill. I watched him take a deep breath before he slowly started shimmying himself out of the window. The sound of his claws scraping across the side of the house grated on my ears. He only got to his hind legs before they bumped against the top most window and stopped him from getting out the rest of the way.

    “Tyler?” I asked worriedly, stepping forward only to realize that the only thing I could really offer was emotional support at this point.

   The tiger’s tail lashed violently, narrowly missing my face. Then, with some sort of twist and a dedicated snarl, Tyler’s striped hindquarters disappeared out of the window.

    I rushed forward to look over the edge and caught the moment that the tiger landed in the grass, on his feet. A sigh of relief escaped my lips before I could really think about it.

   There was a low, distant growl from the tiger as he lifted and rotated each foot experimentally. Once he made sure everything was in its rightful place, he turned his head to look up at the window where I sat.

   He waved his tail a little and flicked his ears at me saying, “ _I’m fine Brock. Thank you. I’ll be back._ ”

   With that, he shook himself one more time and trotted off into the forest. I waited until his black and white tail disappeared before I reluctantly turned back towards my room.

   Desperately, I wanted to follow him to see what happened next but I knew I couldn't. I had to stay behind and cover for them.

   Briefly, I checked the stairway to see if anybody had noticed Tyler's scent and felt my knees go a little weak when I saw no one there. With a small pat on the back for getting Tyler out without anybody noticing and a reminder to stay positive, I wandered towards my door, my body already searching for some sort of stress relief.

    As soon as I opened the door, I was rewarded by the smell of happy werecat. Brian stood dancing in his underwear in the middle of the room, singing to some song that he was listening to on the TV.

   The sight was so comical that I couldn’t help but double over in a fit of laughter despite myself. The stress from Wildcat's incident, combined with Brian’s sweet honeydew scent, almost immediately made me dizzy and, after a moment, I realized I was about to fall. I sat down roughly on the floor before my body could fail me and leaned back on my hands.

    Brian came closer, a worried expression imprinted on his face. “Are you okay?” He asked as he crouched in front of me.

    I nodded distractedly as my fits of giggles subsided. “I’m fine. Just a little dizzy."

    “You're stressed. It’s Vanoss again isn’t it? What'd that asshole do this time?”

    I shook my head, smiling internally at the ongoing feud between Evan and Terroriser. “Actually, it’s not really his fault. I’m worried about Mini is all.”

    “I’m sure he’s wit' Wildcat in one of their rooms. He’ll be fine.” Brian responded confidently.

    For a moment, I considered letting Brian continue to believe that. However, I knew it would only create anxiety if anyone went into Mini’s room or Wildcat’s and found that no one was there.

    “Actually, Mini went to Smii7y and Kryoz’s place. Wildcat followed him out.” I corrected, trying to hide my unease as I realized that Wildcat’s scent still faintly clung to my clothing.

   Luckily, Brian seemed to be so focused on my well being that he didn’t notice the smell of angry alpha on me or drifting in from the hallway. He even shrugged off his faint look of surprise at discovering that Mini and Tyler weren't home.

    “He probably went to see if they had cold medicine, right? Plus, even if I wasn’t right about ‘em being here, I was right to say that they're together. Doesn’t that account for somet’in’?”

    I pursed my lips a little before nodding. “Yeah, you’re right.”

    Brian smiled gently before leaning forward to kiss me on the forehead. “Good. Now, stop worrying so much. Come dance wit’ me.” He suggested with a contagious grin.

    I rolled my eyes and chuckled despite myself. “If anything, I’d much rather watch you be a dork than be one myself.”

    “I t’ink you’re a little late on stopping that one _BUT,_ suit yourself.” He quipped as he bounced out of my reach. With a smile, I got up and walked over to the bed to sit down.

   As it turned out, Brian had been getting ready to go downstairs to find me before I came up to see him instead. He explained this to me amidst his dancing and singing.

   At some point, he even grabbed the hairbrush to use as a mic. Once the song was finished, he used that same hairbrush to comb his hair. The sight made me laugh which seemed to please the blue eyed demon.

    I couldn't help but smile while Brian danced around. For the moment being, it was just me and him. There were no mysterious alphas or trouble ridden subgenders to worry about.

   After his song finished, Brian turned off the TV and left the room, still in his underwear. He came back after a while, still dancing to a song that only he could hear.

    “Between you and Mini, Marcel is going to end up getting gray hairs.” I commented as he walked in.

    He paused mid-stride and pointed to himself, as if to say, “Me?”.

    “No the ghost behind you.” I grumbled sarcastically.

   To my reluctant amusement, Brian turned to look behind him and made a show of looking for the imaginary ghost all around him, even going so far as to look under his arms and feet.

   “Yes you! Who else would I be talking to?” I questioned, exasperatedly.

    Brian shrugged. “I dunno. Why are we giving Marcel gray hairs t'ough? I thought t'at was Evan and Nogla’s job?”

    I chuckled. “Yes, but if you two keep wandering around the house in your underwear, he’s bound to catch you and lock you outside.”

    "He'd have to catch me first." Brian responded smugly.

    I rolled my eyes. "I'd be willing to bet that he'd catch you within five minutes if you went down there right now."

    Brian’s blue eyes narrowed mischievously. “Challenge accepted.” He smirked, just before he turned to run out the door. I reached forward and caught him by the wrist before he could get too far.

    “I wouldn’t do it today though." I warned the werecat. "He’s already gonna be pissed if he finds out that Evan chugged the last of the milk.”

    Brian turned to look at me with a baffled expression. “Evan did what now?”

   I smiled and shrugged tiredly at the thought of Marcel finding out.

   “T’ere was a half gallon in t’ere…" Brian mused before abruptly crouching down to look directly into my eyes with intrigue. "How long’d it take?”

    “I think it was around 15 seconds.”

    “Good lords that guy’s a beast.” Brian commented, clearly impressed. I smiled while he crawled into bed behind me.

    “That’s one way of putting it.” I muttered. A small sigh of laughter resounded through the air and, after a moment, I turned to look at Brian only to realize that he was curling up on the bed, ready to fall asleep again.

    “Are you seriously taking another nap? You probably just woke up from last night’s ‘nap’! _And_ you just got ready to go downstairs.” I uttered in amusement and disbelief.

    “I know, but now I just wanna curl up with my Brocky-boo and fall asleep again.” Brian protested, reaching his arms out for me.

    I rolled my eyes and leaned back to lay on his exposed stomach without letting myself get too comfortable. “I’m not gonna fall asleep though cause then I won’t be able to go to sleep tonight.”

   Brian sighed. “Fine…”

    One of the many enjoyable things about Brian was the rumble produced through his body when he purred. This phenomenon usually occurred when he slept, but that seemed to be an effect of my own participation in sleeping next to him since he only ever purred when he was happy and content.

   Once again, my room was coated in the smell of happy werecat which chased away the acrid scent of my stress and Wildcat’s anger.

    I could feel Brian just starting to drift off when, suddenly, there came celebratory shouting from downstairs. I lifted myself drearily from the stomach pillow I’d been laying on and looked around in confusion.

    “What was that?” Brian asked.

    I shrugged. “I have no idea. Either someone just got roasted or Nogla and Lui-”

    As if by design, I was interrupted by a heavily accented voice yelling about something concerning his wings. Brian chuckled.

    “I'd go wit' t'e last one. Nogla and Lui must be home.” He commented.

    I chuckled and got up from the bed. “Most likely. Which means we should go welcome him back before he runs up here and finds you in your tiddywiddies.”

    Brian laughed and kicked at me playfully. “Well t'en go distract him so I can get dressed.”

    I giggled as I headed for the door. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll tell him just so he can get his camera out and take some pictures.”

    “Ye better not!”

    “We’ll see.” I responded mischievously. A plaintive whine of “babe” followed me to the door.

   “Just get dressed ya big goof.” I instructed dutifully.

    With a smile, I wandered downstairs and into the living room to see what the commotion was about. As soon as I turned the corner, something white and feathery whacked me in the face. I let out a yelp of surprise and stumbled backwards.

    There was a collection of “Nogla” being muttered in several different voices as I regained my balance and reached up to rub my face. Within seconds, those voices cut themselves off with yells of astonisment and groans of exasperation.

    “Nogla! Your wings!” Vanoss barked from behind a giant white appendage. I couldn’t see the shapeshifter over the feathers and the blinding smile that the 6 foot something angel-like creature gave me.

    Nogla’s wings shrunk closer to him as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his green hoodie. “Hi Moo! I’m back!”

    “I see that.” I chuckled with a last futile rub at my burning nose.

    “Sorry ‘bout t'e nose. I forget how cramped it gets in here.” He admitted nervously.

    “You would think that after three years of living here, he would figure out how to keep those things in check.” Marcel commented loudly to Evan, who I assumed was standing next to him.

    I chuckled as Nogla let out an indignant "Hey!" and turned to face the two of them. Luckily, they jumped out of the way just before Nogla’s wings could clip them again.

    “Ye two fookers are just jealous t’at ye don’t have t’ese majestic wings.” Nogla retorted, his wings flaring a little.

    “Uh-huh. T’at’s definitely it.” A familiar voice popped up behind me. I turned a little to see Brian standing behind me, fully clothed and with a smile. Nogla turned with a grin just as Brian gently pushed past me to give him a hug. I smiled fondly at the two while they traded murmured greetings.

    Sometimes, I had to remind myself that Terroriser and Nogla had basically grown up together. They lived together for most of their teenage years before they met any of us. That’s why Nogla’s unique accent tended to cling to Brian whenever he spoke.

    Giving Nogla and Brian some privacy, I glanced around the room to see that Panda and Scotty were already sitting down. It took me by surprise when I glanced over and saw Mini casually sitting on one of the couches, eating a sandwich. He watched our scene unfold intently. Therefore, it didn’t take long for our eyes to meet.

    Somehow, from that one look, I knew that he hadn’t made progress that morning. He looked tense and a little disturbed for a moment before the emotions were washed off his face and he turned back to participate happily in a conversation between Scotty and Panda.

    “Where’s Lui at?” Brian was asking as I turned back to the group still standing in the doorway.

    “He wanted to say hi to some people not too far from the border so I decided to go on ahead.” Nogla responded.

    Brian nodded. “Let me guess, he wanted to say hi to his girlfriend.” They both chuckled as they migrated to the couches where Marcel had joined the other three in watching a movie.

    Immediately, my attention went to Evan who was still standing where he had been when I first walked in. Coincidentally, he was already looking at me, his brown eyes tinged with worry. I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

    “Ya good?” I murmured softly under the renewed noise of the household.

    His eyes didn’t leave me for a good while. He didn’t say anything either but, being within such close proximity to him, I could feel his anxiety. I knew why he was anxious even if he didn’t tell me.

    It was our one indisputable rule that none of the members should go anywhere without another person to make sure that they stayed safe, especially if they were in the human city.

  Lui was strong and smart in lots of ways, but I knew that Evan worried about him a lot. He was concerned for every member but, to the humans, Lui and Nogla were extremely valuable. Nogla was so unique that any human would want to get him just to study him and there was still a strong desire for shapeshifters on the market. Evan kept a close eye on the whereabouts of the two just in case he had to save them when they got into trouble.

    “He’ll be fine. He can take care of himself.” I reassured the tense alpha, squeezing his shoulder gently. Evan simply gave me one of his sad, concerned puppy dog looks before he looked away. I sighed and followed him to the couches to sit down with the others.

    Despite the overall tensions in the pack that Nogla was undoubtedly aware of, he maintained his hyper demeanor. In fact, he tended to be more hyper after missions, if that was even possible. Today seemed to be no exception.

    Nogla told us all about his adventures quite animatedly. Half of us paid attention, but the other half, including Marcel, were too invested in the movie to really pay him any mind. Unfortunately for them, Nogla only increased in excitement and noise as he continued to talk with Vanoss and Brian.

   Eventually, Marcel let out an overly exasperated sigh and sunk down dramatically against the couch.

    “Hey, uh, Nogla? I think you deflated Marcel.” Evan commented with a grin.

    “Legit he has not stopped talking since he got back.” Marcel grumbled.

    Nogla glanced up with a confused look. “Who? Me?”

    The rest of us gawked at him while Marcel yelled, “Yeah! You!”

    A dorky smile swept across Nogla’s face and he glanced down shyly at the bag of candy he was now munching on.

   “That’s just ‘cause I just like ya guys. Ya know…” He trailed off incoherently. I resisted the urge to swoon over him while Brian piped up beside me.

    “I think it’s got somet’in’ to do wit’ t’e eight bags of Emnems I just ate, but I dunno. I like being wit’ ya guys.” He said in a hyper voice, his accent more exaggerated to imitate Nogla.

    Everyone laughed for a moment and then faded out at as they focused on the movie. Nogla continued chuckling and then, in a quiet voice, he murmured, “I actually like Emnems.”

    There was a collection of “Oh my Gods” and laughter. Nogla looked at us innocently and continued chewing on his food.

    Mini chuckled, following it up with a weary, “Great.”

    “I love that man.” Brian said in between huffs of laughter.

    “I don’t think that’s the point Nogla.” Mini added with another laugh.

    For the most part, we spent the rest of the day laughing, poking fun at each other, and watching movies. It wasn’t until later that night that we remembered that we were supposed to have gone grocery shopping.

    Marcel was the first to notice after he went to get a bowl of cereal and found that there was no milk.

    “Who the fuck finished off the milk!?” Came the cry from the kitchen.

    My eyes flickered over to Evan who had suddenly found a profound interest in whatever movie we had put in earlier that evening. I chuckled as Marcel came stomping in with a bowl of cereal without the milk.

    “We had a half gallon last night! How the fuck do you assholes finish all that in one day!?”

    “They chug it.” I muttered quietly with a significant look at Vanoss. Scotty and Panda giggled from across the room.

    “Alright! Who wants to go shopping?” Evan suddenly shouted, standing abruptly.

    “I’ll go.” Scotty responded eagerly. Evan nodded in appreciation before asking again.

   Perhaps it was a trick of the light or my imagination, but I saw a flash of apprehension appear in Scotty’s face for a split second before it disappeared. The incident was so fast that I wasn’t even sure if it actually happened.

   Brushing it off, I glanced over to see Marcel raising his hand as well.

    “I’ll go. Without me, you’d probably forget something… again.” He mutterd with an accusatory glare at Vanoss who, to his credit, looked slightly guilty.

   Last time, Marcel asked for a candy bar to be brought back with the other groceries. Of course Evan forgot.

    Clearing his throat importantly, Evan continued on. “Anyone else?”

    “I’ll go.” Brian responded from his spot beside me. “I could use some exercise. Plus, I have yet to kick Scotty’s ass in a race.” He added, pointing at the panther across the room.

    “Bring it on, borther.” Scotty replied enthusiastically.

    “I’ll go with too, I guess.” I conceded when Evan glanced at me with a questioning look.

    “That should be enough then. We leave in five minutes.”

    Everyone nodded and the patrol that was to leave dispersed in different directions, some to the bathroom, some to find shoes.

    It only took me a moment to notice that Mini had also disappeared. The smell of that mornings breakfast seeped out from the kitchen. I followed it to find Mini humming to himself while he checked his phone and waited for his food to finish heating up. I walked around the counter and waited for him to look up but he never did. Instead, his gaze was fixed resolutely to his phone, his glasses clinging to the end of his nose. I shook my head.

    “You and Tyler are so much alike, it’s not even funny.” I muttered.

    Mini shrugged. “Probably an effect of living together for so long.”

    “True… You coming with us?” I asked over the sound of the beeping microwave.

    The beta finally glanced up at me and sighed. “No. I have to wait for Tyler. He should be home tonight… Hopefully...” He trailed off, anxiety flashing in his blue-grey eyes.

    I eyed him carefully out of the corner of my eye. Tyler staying out longer had to mean something. If anything, it most likely meant that Kryoz was trying to reverse the transformation or they were studying him.   

   “Did Kryoz say how long it would take?” I asked softly.

    Mini looked up at me with vaguely baffled and uncertain eyes, his irises pulsing with fear. I saw a brief look of anger and regret pass his face as he turned away again. That look confirmed my suspicion.

   “He said he wasn’t sure." Mini admitted, albeit somewhat reluctantly. "I’m worried… For several reasons. And, it would be nice to go into town but, even without my issues with Tyler, it would be hard to go without being noticed. You know what happened last time.”

    I recoiled slightly from the memory. Honestly, I had forgotten about the incident with the humans but it only made sense that Mini hadn’t.

   "We would protect you.” I gave him an apologetic look and walked closer to sling my arm around his shoulders. “It’s not like many of the humans are up this late anyway. I don’t think it’ll take very long either.”

    He reached an arm around my waist and squeezed me gently. “I know. I just don’t feel up to it at the moment. Plus, I need to wait to talk to Tyler… alone.” Mini trailed off with an ambivalent expression.

    I rubbed his shoulder comfortingly and sighed. “I can respect that…” Then, in an undertone, I murmured, “Just don’t get too lost in your head Craig. We want you to be healthy… Physically.” I said, letting go of him to point at his chest. “And mentally.” I finished with a gentle tap on either side of his head.

    He nodded and smiled sweetly. “I know.”

    “Good.” I ruffled his hair slightly and patted him on the back. “As long as you know. Take your time while we’re gone. I know you and Wildcat could use it. I'll see you two nerds later.”

   I chuckled as Mini gave me a scandalized look. The sound of a laugh and a quiet “Thank you” followed me out of the kitchen as I headed outside to meet the others.

   Vanoss stood the furthest from the front door, looking at his phone in his human form. I spotted Marcel and Scotty in their animal forms circling each other a few feet away from Evan. Brian sat, already in his werecat form, observing the two demons in front of him as they staged a fight.

    Turning into my werecat form was much easier than turning into my human form, but it still felt unsettling to experience my skin changing and my bones shifting. That was kind of my own fault since I choose to use slow shifting instead of forcing my body through shifts like shape shifters.

   I still preferred it though, especially when I reverted back to my human form. It made the shift less painful. I relished in the sensations that my new skin brought as my change finished and spent a moment admiring the dirt between my claws before turning my attention to Vanoss.

    As expected, he was watching me and waiting. Once I made eye contact with him, there was a loud click and suddenly everyone was at attention. He scanned our faces individually before nodding in approval.

    “Alright! Is everyone ready?” He inquired. There was one unified click of affirmation before Evan began his own transformation.

    Somehow, I never thought that a transformation could be graceful whenever I did it, but Evan made it look almost majestic. Of course, I would never say it out loud but all of us held a great deal of admiration for the alpha.

   Once his paws touched the ground, Evan shook himself and set off at the head of the group with the rest of us following close behind.

    I fell into step next to Brian as the group quickly trailed out into the forest.

    “ _Well hello there gorgeous_.” He rumbled seductively.

    I rolled my eyes and followed Marcel’s fluorescent purple-green tail through the bushes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope you guys enjoyed. Some notes for this chapter:  
> On the topic of subgenders: As stated in the notes at the beginning of the chapter, subgenders were made in a laboratory by humans who wish to undermine the influence of the demons in their world. This means that, not only are they studying demons and figuring out how to kill them, they are also trying to take away every demon's rationale and logic by making them dependent on specific things, like sex. By definition, sub genders are demons who are hard wired for reproduction and, therefore, must find a mate in order to avoid going insane (Insanity being defined by losing all sense of humanity and thought which turns demons into slaughterers of entire civilizations in most cases). In a way, by creating subgenders, the humans have turned those demons into a mutilated form of livestock, animals unable to think critically and retaliate against their captors. Of course, the process isn't complete so sub genders can still think for themselves and they only have rare moments where they can't control their instincts (i.e. during ruts and heats). This is the history of how subs were created.
> 
> A minor detail that I wanted to address as well deals with the “Market” and the issues with shapeshifters being exposed. Like I said before, the goal of a lot of human experimenters is to learn about every demonic species and figure out how to rise above them by finding their weaknesses. Now, imagine that they capture one person who can transform into virtually every single demon on Earth in the blink of an eye. With a shapeshifter, they can study all demons while only having to deal with capturing one or two people. That is why they are valuable. This is an important element to remember for the future.
> 
> On the topic of "getting stuck": Getting stuck, or going feral, is common for subgenders. This is in part because the sub gender half of the mind, called a counterpart, has more control over the body than a counterpart for an ordinary demon. Therefore, if a subgender's counterpart doesn't agree with something that the person is doing or wants something, they can easily bar the person from regaining control and take full jurisdiction of the body. Like Moo said, some counterparts will go so far as to starve/dehydrate themselves or kill someone just to get what they want.
> 
> On a less serious note, I want to address the phrase "all cat and no claws". When Tyler says this, he is referring to his mind. The term "no claws", as used in this phrase, has no relation to his physical claws. Essentially, this phrase means that, by giving up his body to the demon inside, he's lost all intelligence and rationality and therefore has "no claws" to defend himself. It's a common saying among felines. Little fun fact for you guys~
> 
> Thank you for reading ♥


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Attempted Comedy and Angst ahead~  
> There is a concept that I must describe before I start this chapter. There are two forms of “claiming” when referring to subgenders. In a pack, the Lafaino/a (Leader) “claims” each of its members by frequent scent-marking and a bite to the wrist that marks them as part of the pack under that person’s authority. Another form of claiming is between a mated pair. A gyomorde (mating bond) is what they call the bite that connects two people as mates but that specific bond tends to override any other bonds that subgenders may have (i.e. the bond with the leader), which can lead to some major problems, as you’ll see in this chapter. 
> 
> Another thing to mention is today’s need-to-know terms. In the Korean language, there is a word that I learned which was “Pandanlyeog” which is the Korean word for Judgment (I think. It’s been a while so correct me if I’m wrong). Based on that knowledge, I named the town in this story “Panlyog” to fit that meaning but I twisted the word so it’s not a complete translation and it thus becomes a subliminal message. A lot of the names in my stories have deeper meanings like this. When “coming up” with names, I will sometimes use the words I want from other languages, mainly Korean and Spanish, and twist them or combine them into a new and somewhat unique word. For example, the term I used in the first paragraph of this note, “gyomorde”, is derived from the Korean word “gyobae”, which I think means mating, and the Spanish word “mordedura”, which is a form of the word bite. Another term to mention is “sub counter”. The term literally means “subgender counterpart”. That’s all the notes for now and as always, there will be more at the end of the chapter.  
> Enjoy!

**Mini’s Perspective:**

The next day

    Needless to say, Tyler didn’t return that night. Luckily, everyone was so tired that they went to bed right away after they returned home without asking any questions. I went to bed late, half out of my mind with fatigue from the stress of the situation.

    The next morning, I woke with a headache. Yesterday, my room smelled like the remnants of angry alpha. Today, my room was starting to reek of stressed beta. The smell irritated me to the point that I woke up coated in my own calming pheromones.

    Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and glared around my room. It was still somewhat dark, which meant it was probably early in the morning.

   I grabbed my glasses off of the nightstand next to my bed and scowled at the clock sitting next to them. It read: 8:08am.

   With an exasperated groan, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and got up, the clothes from the previous day still clinging to my skin.

 _I need a shower_. I thought bitterly. _And a drink_.

    I stood and stretched, grumbling at the tightness of my chest. Muttering something about it being too early in the morning to be awake, I wandered to the bathroom for a drink of water only to find that there weren’t any cups. I sighed.

 _Today just doesn’t seem to be my day_.

   A fit of coughs heaved themselves up from my chest as I made my way downstairs in search of relief.

    The smell of cinnamon, tinged with honeydew, drifted out lightly from the living room once I reached the bottom of the stairs.

 _What’s Moo doing up this early_? I asked myself, forgetting my mission for a drink and making a beeline for the source of the scent.

    As expected, when I turned the corner into the living room, Moo’s tall figure melted into my vision, his brown haired head hanging over the back of the couch on the opposite side of the room. I stifled a cough as I padded closer to the beta and only got within a few feet of him before his head suddenly popped up, hope flaring in his dark green eyes.

    I watched as that anticipation receded with his recognition of who I was. He offered a demure smile and sighed.

   “Good morning Mini.”

    “Mornin’. You expecting someone?” I responded in a strained voice.

    He gave me a look of apology. “Honestly? I was kind of hoping that you were Evan.”

    I quirked an eyebrow. “What for?”

    He shrugged. “He seemed more tense than usual yesterday. I didn’t get the chance to pull him aside and ask why, so I was hoping to catch him early this morning to ask him what was wrong. He wasn’t in his room when I checked though.”

    I stiffened a little and suppressed another coughing fit at the mention of Evan. With yesterday’s events, I hadn’t gotten around to asking him how his meeting with Zephyra went. If I actually thought about it, Zephyra never really had good news in the few times that she had visited him, so it only made sense that he would be anxious.

    “You know something about it, don’t you?” Brock asked, his eyes alight with newfound interest.

    I shrugged and coughed heavily for a moment or two. Moo jumped up from the couch and, when I looked up again, he was walking back into the living room with a glass of water in his hands.

    “Thanks.” I murmured as he walked up to me.

    “No problem.” He responded easily, leading me to the couch to sit down and take a seat by my side.

    “The night before last, I couldn’t sleep.” I started.

    Moo nodded. “Marcel said that you were still up when they got back.”

    I took a sip of water before nodding. “I was stressed and Evan said he couldn’t go to sleep so he was out for a run. After Marcel went to bed, he told me that he was supposed to have a meeting with… with Zephyra.”

    Brock’s eyes went wide at the mention of her name and he let out a considerate hum.

   “No wonder he was so distraught.” He mused to himself. “Do you know what she told him?”

    I shook my head. “I meant to ask him yesterday but…”

    Moo nodded. “You were busy. It happens. We should definitely ask him later today though.”

    I let out a hum of agreement before laying my head against the back of the couch... For a moment, we drifted into silence, intoxicated by the calming pheromones that I was still producing, mostly for myself.

    “So, how'd you convince Brian to let you get up and come downstairs?” I asked, turning to face my companion again with a raised eyebrow.

    Brock chuckled. “I told him that I would be back before he woke up next.”

    “And how long ago was that?” I inquired with a knowing smile. Brock shifted in his seat.

    “An hour or two ago… You don’t think...?” He fixed me with an uncertain gaze. I simply continued smiling. “Surely he wouldn’t wake up again so early?”

    “Sometimes it varies. If his ‘Brocky-Boo’ is missing, he might wake up faster.” I shrugged, using the nickname that Brian usually used for Brock. Naturally, we all teased them for it. Moo glared at me half heartedly. "Ya gotta admit, I have a point.”

   Moo sighed, a small smile dancing across his lips. After a moment, he drug himself off the couch and stood to stretch.

    “Well, I better get back before Brian wakes up then.” Brock murmured with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

    I nodded. “I’ll leave in a little to go see what happened with Tyler.”

    The green-eyed beta standing in front of me gave me a curious look. “You're going out their on your own?"

   I nodded and turned my head away. Even from this distance, I could smell the small spike of anxiety in Brock's scent.

   "Do you want me to go with?” The beta suggested.

    I shook my head and sighed before turning back to meet his eyes. “Nah. I can handle it on my own.”

    “Alright.” Moo muttered, his voice still holding a sense of uncertainty. I tried to give him a reassuring look, but it felt more like a grimace then anything else.

   “Good luck.” The beta murmured softly as he turned to go through the kitchen on his way upstairs. 

   I hummed considerably, knowing that it went against Brock's instincts to let me go at this alone. Yet, he still allowed me to take care of my own problems no matter how anxious I knew he must have been about the situation between Tyler and I. The thought made my chest tighten with a flood of emotions.

    For the past two months, Tyler and I had been getting stuck in our animal forms at least once a week for sometimes hours at a time. The first time it happened, we made up some excuse to give the pack and took a three day trip out to a demon named Droid, an old friend of the pack. Short trips like the one we took were usual occurences within the pack, as long as they didn’t happen too often and we weren’t gone for too long.

    Through several hours of mental expeditions at Droid’s, we learned that both Tyler and I were having the same problem. Our subcounters were constantly barring us from transforming back into our human forms because they were tired of waiting for us to grant them their wish; to be a mated pair.

   Unfortunately, they both knew, as well as Tyler and I, that we weren’t allowed to make our own _gyomordes_ for several reasons. Mostly, those reasons revolved around Tyler being an alpha.

   Normally, the only alpha in any subgender pack is, by nature, the _Lafaino/a_ . However, our pack defied that nature by having three alpha sub genders in one group. This meant that Evan’s authority as the _Lafaino_ was constantly being challenged by the other two alphas, Tyler and Marcel, even during the smallest of arguments.

   If Tyler and I became a pair, Evan’s authority would, in theory, be obsolete to me or, worst case scenario, my body would literally tear itself apart trying to obey both alphas. On top of that, there would be a territorial dispute between Evan and Tyler over who could claim me if Tyler and I decided to bond as mates.

   I knew this. My leopard did as well. However, _it_ was willing to take a risk where I was hesitant and, thus, I ended up in my current situation.

    I didn’t want to tell Evan what was happening for several reasons. Mostly, I didn’t want to say anything because I knew that if he figured out the cause of our problem, he’d feel guilty. I didn’t want that.

   The other reason was that I was afraid that the pack would think that Tyler and I were gonna go feral. After all, that’s normally what happens to people like us who can never satisfy the needs of our subcounters.

    As with most demons like me, I was taught at a young age what kind of dangers awaited me as a sub. Most of the stories were probably exaggerated to instill fear against our counterparts, but, as a kid, I always believed my teachers.

   They used to tell me stories about subs who had gotten stuck in their animal forms and ended up slaughtering their whole pack just to get what their counterparts wanted. Families and friends didn't matter to a feral demon. Everyone ended up being enemies in their eyes.

   The fear of living those stories kept me far away from going to the pack for help. Both Tyler and I had gotten stuck several times in the months previous to last week, but none of them had been as severe as my last one.

    A week ago, I got stuck for three days in a row. I never left the territory, but I avoided the pack when they searched for me by avoiding all the places I knew they'd check first. They still almost caught me several times on the first day but, when it became obvious that I was avoiding them, they left me alone.

   The incident had shaken me to the core. Beforehand, the longest either of us got stuck was twenty hours straight. Spending days in animal form had killed any sense of hope I had for us to keep putting off the problem. It was getting worse and more frequent.

    Yesterday was the last straw for me when I woke up to a tiger in my bed. I left for Kryoz and Smii7y’s almost as soon as I woke up to see if they would help. They were distanced enough from the pack that I was sure none of the members would find out.

    When I got to the cabin at the edge of our borders, I explained the situation to Smii7y and Kryoz. They were understanding of my need for secrecy- as I figured they would be.

   Surprisingly, Smii7y didn't know much about how to help. The only thing he remembered from his studies was the old nursery tales where subgenders went feral, which wasn’t comforting in the least. He had no idea how to reverse it.

   Kryoz, on the other hand, told me that he knew something that _might_ help. I was on my way back to the house to tell Tyler when I ran into the alpha in the forest.

    At the time, he was still sporting the fur of a tiger. I explained to him what I had found out at the couple’s cabin and told him to trust them with our problem. He argued with me for a bit about how revealing such compromising information to people could be dangerous, but I eventually calmed him down and convinced him otherwise, at least enough for him to try whatever Kryoz had in store.

   After that, Tyler briefly told me how he felt when he woke up and that he escaped without trouble. Then, we went our separate ways. I returned to the house acting like nothing had happened and, according to everyone else at the time, nothing _had_ happened.

    It wasn’t until Moo walked into the living room later on that I figured out how much anyone knew about our disappearances earlier that morning.

   Of course, Moo knew about our situation. In order to be efficient betas, we had to trust each other with a lot of things. It didn’t take long for Brock to figure out that something was wrong after the first incident and I didn’t bother hiding it when he asked me what was wrong.

    I never expected him to know about Tyler though. Maybe he could have inferred what had happened if he caught Tyler's scent, but he wouldn't have known about where Tyler was going unless he asked him. A surge of unease rose in my chest as I thought about the implications of this.

   I didn't know how or when Tyler had spoken to Moo. He hadn't told me anything about it. What I did know was that Tyler was still stuck when he came through the forest, which meant he had been stuck getting out of the house as well.

   Luckily, Moo was the only one who I knew for a fact had seen him. I couldn't help but worry about the next time either of us got stuck. Anybody could discover our problem. The scariest part was I didn't what their reaction would be if they found out Tyler and I were borderline feral.

    Exasperated, and growing more anxious by the minute, I got up and headed towards the front door to grab my stuff and leave. Trapped in the hallway to the front door, the stench of body odor and agitation clouded my nose.

 _I should have taken a shower before_ _I came down_. I thought to myself with a grimace. Now, I didn’t have the patience for a shower.

    Reaching into the closet at the bottom of the stairs, I quietly grabbed my gray running jacket and put it on over my dirty clothes. Silently, I hoped that, when I saw Tyler next, he would be in human form.

   I was putting on my shoes when the creak of the stairs behind me warned me of another presence. I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t doing anything wrong by trying to leave the house, but my skin crawled when my pack member softly cleared his throat.

    Trying not to seem nervous, I glanced over my shoulder to see Jiggly standing on the stairs with bleary eyes.

   “Good morning Anthony.” I greeted him, keeping my voice light. “You’re up early.”

    Panda chuckled. “I could say the same for you. Where ya headed to?”

    I tied off my last shoe and stood to face him with a pleasant smile. “I’m going for a run.”

    The mountain lion's eyes narrowed skeptically. “You’re going out alone?”

    Of course, my disappearance the previous week had disturbed everyone in the pack. Since then, it was obvious that they were trying to keep close tabs on me and, although I didn’t appreciate being treated like a child, I understood why they were so worried.

   The only problem was that they didn’t know my reason for leaving in the first place. I couldn’t tell them either, even if I'd wanted to. How can someone explain to their pack that they ran away because they could’ve gone insane and killed everyone?

    Swallowing a familiar bubble of anxiety, I shrugged.

    “Yeah. Tyler went out earlier this morning so I figured I’d join him.” I lied. So far as I knew, the pack had never suspected Wildcat’s disappearance yesterday.

    Jiggly hummed before nodding. “I guess that sounds about right.” He itched his chin thoughtfully. “Do you know where he went?”

    “I believe he went to Smii7y and Kryoz’s place.”

     Jiggly’s brown eyes flexed and narrowed again before his face finally relaxed into that familiar smile of his. “Well, I hope you guys have fun. Tell John and Smithers I said hi.”

    I saluted him with an exaggerated motion of my arm. “Will do captain.”

    Panda chuckled as he turned to go back upstairs. A bitter sense of relief washed over me as the cougar disappeared up the steps.

   Anthony had a great sense of humor and a delightful personality, along with the kind of laugh that made me giggle. However, at that moment, I knew that I would feel better the farther I was from him if it meant that the secret shared between Tyler and I wouldn’t be found out.

    That was the exact mentality that I was trying to avoid. It was unhealthy for the pack to have a distant beta who would much rather be as far away from them as possible.

    I rubbed my hands over my face and shivered.

 _This can’t continue._ I thought to myself for the thousandth time since yesterday morning.

    Pushing away my worries with a frustrated growl, I exited the house and made my way into the forest, heading straight for Kryoz and Smii7y’s little cabin on the other side of the western border. With some effort, I was able to calm my mind enough to enjoy the scenery.

    The trees were the first to come into focus. All of them were bright green, some in ways that marked the temporary bloom of plants that only come up with the disappearance of the snow. The smell of spring flowers permeated the air, carried on a breeze that stirred up the songbirds as they flew around overhead. The trees waved their mighty branches at me, taking their turns in letting me see the sun as I passed underneath them. Several times, I saw a rabbit or a squirrel race across my path, but I paid them no mind.

   I walked blindly through the forest for a while, not really conscious of thought, but somehow still aware of where I was. Subconsciously, I kept tabs on all the landmarks of the territory, but I didn’t allow myself to be hold onto my thoughts for very long.

   The only time that I briefly caught onto my thoughts was just before I crossed the border. After that, my leopard kept its eyes and ears pricked for any sort of danger while I stepped back and let it take jurisdiction of my body.

   I watched its mind cautiously and waited for any flicker of ill intent. When that didn’t happen, I relaxed a bit more and let the cat lead me.

    That was until we came to one particular tree that caught my leopard’s attention. The leopard had stopped to look at it which woke me from my daze. A slight shock of surprise rippled through me as I registered what it was seeing.

    Dangling from the branches, hung a long black tail that flicked back and forth as I watched. I followed the tail up to the shadows in the trees and eventually made out the source.

    Woven into the branches and dappled by the sunlight striking through the leaves, sat a sizable black panther. Its dark fur almost blended in with the shadows of the tree, so much so that, if I hadn’t seen its tail, I wouldn’t have noticed that it was there.

    “Good morning John.” I called up to the animal.

   The panther flinched with a snort and nearly toppled off of the branch he was laying on, the blue designs in his pelt flashing in alarm. Luckily, his large paws wrapped around the branch just in time stop himself from falling.

   There was a crackling sound and, when the panther moved his paws, I could see that he had accidentally burned a section of the branch he was laying on.

    The feline made a confused sound and yawned before looking down at me with bleary blue-green eyes. His pupils widened and contracted in the morning light until they finally focused in on my face. The panther made a grunt of exasperation once he recognized who I was.

    “Nice to see you too.” I grumbled.

    The large cat sighed and stood to stretch himself out across the branch, his sharp claws digging into the bark as he flexed them.

   After thoroughly extending every limb of his lanky body, he jumped down from the tree. He landed with a thump, sending a thrill of electricity through the ground and up my legs, before sauntering over to rub up against my side.

    “Nice try John. Sucking up to me won’t help you. Besides, you should be kissing Smii7y’s ass judging from where you- OW! Hey!” I exclaimed as the panther nipped at my hand. I glared down at him with a growl. “No teeth!”

    “ _That’s what he said._ ” The panther snickered through his fangs. An involuntary guffaw burst out from between my lips.

   “Wow.” I laughed with a shake of my head. “What did you do this time anyway? You weren’t out here yesterday.”

    John shrugged his muscular shoulders and brought a paw up to lick and run over his ears. “ _I was. You just didn’t see me. I forgot to clean the house and get groceries like Smii7y wanted me to the other day._ ”

    I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess. You decided to play arcade games rather than do what you were told while you guys were in town.” The panther paused to glare at me before continuing to clean his head. “I take that as a yes.”

    “ _Hey man, Fitz and Jay were in town. There was no way I wasn’t going to at least say hi._ ”

    “And thus we encounter the reason that I always find you sleeping in the doghouse.” The panther glared at me. “Oh sorry, I mean ‘cathouse’.” A grimace graced the black cat’s face.

    “ _We aren’t all as weird as him._ ” John assured a bird who had landed to watch us, flicking his tail at me in disgust.

    “I didn’t know they were in town though. You should’ve invited me along.” I pouted, feigning injury.

    Kryoz rolled his eyes. “ _Like they would wanna hang out with a loser like you._ ”

    “You’re so mean to me.” I muttered.

    “ _And who’s fault is that?_ ” The panther smirked, his eyes beginning to pulse.

    I took a precautionary step back just as the giant cat started transforming back into his human form. Giving him a little privacy, I looked away while the panther’s bones snapped into place under his skin.

    The little brown and white flecked bird from a moment ago was still perched on its branch just above our heads, watching John’s transformation with surprising attentiveness. Somehow, it looked eerily familiar, but I couldn’t quite grasp why. Vaguely, I wondered what it was thinking and how long it'd been sitting there.

    “At least I seem to be having more luck with my lover than you have been with yours.” John commented jokingly. I turned my attention back to him with a nervous chuckle.

   Kryoz had a congenial personality that always interested me in a strange way. These kinds of jokes were simply part of the package deal.

    As I watched, he leaned forward and flicked his messy mop of blondish-white hair away from his forehead. I admired each ring he produced from his pocket as he put them on individually.

   They were all unique in their own right. One of them I knew for sure held a turquoise gemstone. There was another one with a large black stone on it- I couldn’t remember the name of it for the life of me- and the others had several, varying designs.

    “Let me guess. You’re here for Tyler.” John commented after a moment, glancing up at me with those striking eyes of his.

    I nodded. “Figured I’d come see how he’s doing. Seeing you assholes again is an added bonus.”

    John gave me a subdued glare. “Just admit it Mini. You wanted to spend some time with the cool kids.”

    “You wish. So, how long are you committing to your punishment?”

    “Until Smii7y forgives me I guess, which could be forever knowing him. Am I right?”

    As if our talk had summoned him, a low growl interrupted us from the bushes behind Kryoz.

   Several stunned heart beats passed before a different black panther, one with glowing red stripes across its face and shoulders, came stalking out. John didn’t even bother turning around to face the cat as it approached him.

   Unlike John’s blue-green eyes, which stood out in striking contrast to his panther’s fur, this panther’s dark brown eyes almost blended in with its fur. If it hadn’t been for the sun glinting off of them, I would have doubted that they were there in the first place.

    I repressed a smirk from growing on my face and took a few steps back as I watched Smii7y prowl closer to us. John sat perfectly still so as to not encourage the feline. It wasn’t until his fingers twitched in nervousness that things went a little crazy for a moment.

    Spurred by that small movement, Smii7y pounced on Kryoz from behind and almost pinned him down, face first, on the ground.

   Just before he could gain his footing though, John squirmed out from underneath the cat’s lithe figure, like a fish. As soon as he was free, the demon jumped up and ran in a zigzag pattern around the clearing. He tried aiming for the tree that he had been sleeping in earlier as an escape, but was unable to get to it with Smii7y snapping at his heels.

   So, he continued to race in circles, practically taunting the black cat. The speed and agility with which they moved fascinated me.

    Every time Smii7y got too close, Kryoz would make a sharp turn or back track over their trail. To John’s credit, he moved just as fast as Smii7y even though he was still in his human form. Yet, Smii7y kept right on John’s metaphorical tail, his own tail snapping around to keep him balanced as he chased his mate.

   At one point, John gained enough distance to risk jumping to the tree. The moment he got close, he jumped up, grabbed the lowest branch, and swung himself up onto it in one swift motion. Smii7y’s muscles bunched and, with one arching leap, he tackled John straight off the branch and onto the ground below.

    The two wrestled around for a second before Smii7y inevitably gained the upper hand and pinned John to the ground on his back, his jaws snapping shut an inch from John’s face. John flinched but went limp immediately following that.

    I smiled at the obvious display of dominance. Neither Kryoz nor Smii7y had subgenders, but they always did things like this where they could show off to each other just how strong and fast they were. It wasn’t unusual behavior for them.

    There was a pause in Smii7y’s growling where his fangs slipped back under his black lips. Then, with a devilish grin, he proceeded to lick Kryoz’s cheek.

   John let out a yelp of protest and began squirming to get away. Smii7y responded by jumping off of him and trotting over to me with a self satisfied smirk, leaving his mate sputtering in disgust.

    “Well hello Smithers.” I greeted him as he wrapped himself around my legs in a similar fashion to what John had done earlier. He glanced up at me with his dark eyes, gently smacking my side with his tail.

    “That was rude.” John growled, standing to brush himself off. An angry looking red mark smeared itself across the right side of his face. Smii7y chuffed lightly.

   “Mini, why is my mate such an asshole?” The panther at my side started transforming back while Kryoz continued complaining. “He punishes me for the same things that he does and then he comes out here and chases me around like some sort of maniac. Then, he has the _audacity_ to lick my face with that spiky tongue of his. Can you believe this guy?”

    “Sounds like someone wants to spend another week sleeping outside.” Smii7y snarked, standing to his full height, his brown haired head almost level with mine.

    I chuckled as Kryoz gave Smii7y an indignant glare and folded his arms defensively. “I was just stating straight facts. It’s not my fault for saying you’re an asswipe.”

    “I should make it two weeks? That sounds good. What do you think, Mini?” Smii7y turned to me with a considerate look.

    I smiled. “Sounds reasonable.”

    “Traitor.” John growled from across the clearing. I simply winked at him.

    “Mini is far from a traitor, alright? He’s just siding with the better decision in this situation.” Smii7y responded, strolling over to his boyfriend. John glared at him dismissively as Smii7y came to a stop in front of him.

    “Does that ‘better decision’ have something to do with not getting his ass kicked by a certain someone?”

    Smii7y’s back was turned to me so I couldn't see his expression as he responded with, “Sure. Unlike a _certain someone,_  he knows when to keep his mouth shut.”

    Kryoz visibly shivered and leaned away from his  partner. Laughing nervously, he began fidgeting with one of the many rings on his fingers.

   “Sooo… were you serious about that whole ‘staying out for an extra week’?”

    Smii7y’s narrow shoulders made a slight bouncing motion up and down. “Depends.”

    I smiled as silence drew out between the pair. John squirmed uncomfortably under his mate’s gaze.

   “What exactly does it depend on?”

   Smii7y shifted and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “We’ll talk about it later.” He said finally, his voice dripping with mischief. John shrunk a little and took a step back.

    “Anyway, long time no see Mini.” Smii7y moved on, turning back to face me and leaving Kryoz to wonder what was in store for him with a ridiculously baffled look on his face.

    I smiled. “If a long time to you is a day than, sure. Long time no see.”

    John shook off his shock as I spoke and scoffed. “Would have been better if we didn’t have to see your ugly mug for another few days.”

   I glared at him as he grinned and reached up to pull down his bottom eyelid with a single finger, sticking his tongue out at me.

    Smii7y didn’t bother hiding his laughter like he used to at the jest. When I first met the unique assassin, he wore a white mask any time he met us or went out in public. His mask had been a symbol of his insecurities as well as his strengths as a mercenary- however ironic that is. It wasn’t until I spent some time getting to know the panther that he finally started trusting me and a select few with his true identity.

   However, up until that point, he used to hide his face whenever he laughed without his mask. Nowadays, it made me happy that he no longer felt the need to hide his face from me. I sighed and rolled my eyes as a wave of fondness overcame me.

    “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know you love me.”

    “Do we?” John muttered in question, Smii7y snorting at the comment. Kryoz glanced over at his boyfriend, clearly amused and admiring of the other.

    Ignoring the comment, I continued on. “Speaking of which, how’s Tyler?” I asked, the question burning on the tip of my tongue. Smii7y stopped giggling for a moment and gave me a strange look before shrugging.

   “He’s doing fine. John’s little test finally started working late last night. Wildcat’s been sleeping since then.” John nodded in acknowledgement. “Of course, we’ve been expecting you to come check on him.”

    “Honestly, I thought you’d be here sooner.” Kryoz quipped from his spot next to Smii7y.

    I glared at him halfheartedly. “I’m worried. That’s all.”

    Smii7y opened his mouth to say something before John interrupted.

    “Aw~ Who knew Mini was such a softy?”

    I rolled my eyes with a groan. “Can you guys please just take me there?”

    The couple shared a significant look. I had to remind myself that, as a mated pair, they were able to read each other’s thoughts. A pang of jealousy rose from the leopard in the back of my mind.

    After a moment, John turned back to me with a smug look and a shrug. “That’s all you had to say big boy.”

    With that, the couple turned and headed into the forest. John’s arm wrapped itself instinctively around Smii7y’s narrow shoulders while Smii7y’s arm encased John’s waist.

    Despite my ever present stress, I couldn’t help but smile wearily at the two. They didn’t come around very often, and, when they did, they normally hung out with Panda and I, but they were srill good friends.

    Outside of the pack, they had tons of friends that they visited a lot, including Fitz and Jay, the people John mentioned earlier. Occasionally, I joined these guys when they went into town and hung out with their various groups. I hadn’t gone recently because of the whole “getting stuck” situation, but I did miss their companionship.

   Looking at the couple in front of me at that moment, I found myself wishing that I could forget about my stresses and worries and just hang out with them for a while. It was also at that same moment that I vowed to fix what was wrong with Tyler and I if it was the last thing that I did.

    Smii7y and Kryoz's cabin was only a few minutes away but, once we got there, I could smell Tyler’s scent even before I broke the treeline. The cabin was a cute one story, two bedroom wood house with functioning electricity and water. It was big enough to fit a kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and a big bathroom with a spacious shower.

    The outside was covered in vines that grew everywhere but on the front and back doors and the windows and was outlined by bushes around the edges. I briefly admired the outer designs before redirecting my attention to the couple who owned the house.

    Somewhere in the few minutes it took to walk to the cabin, Kryoz had taken the lead with Smii7y just behind me. This sort of formation was a safety precaution considering that they weren’t protected by the enchantments of our territory. Out here, they had to be extra cautious when maintaining not only their safety but the safety of others who came to visit.

   Of course, their cabin and the small territory around it was frequently scent marked to ward off most demons. However, all of us knew that that did nothing to deter humans, who had absolutely no sense of smell, and the demons that served such humans.

    Once at the doorstep of the cabin, John produced a small silver key from his pocket and unlocked the door. The moment I walked in, I was met with the bittersweet smell of happy mates and the slight underlying scent of the person I was dying to see.

    Kryoz held the door open to let us in before closing it and trailing off into the house towards the bathroom. I eagerly followed behind Smii7y as he led me through the kitchen and into the living room where Tyler’s alpha musk grew stronger.

    “Honey, I’m home!” Smii7y announced our entrance as we walked in. Tyler’s blue eyes connected with mine the moment I walked in.

   There was a brief hiccup of relief in my lungs as I realized that he was no longer a tiger. When he stood from the couch, he stood as his usual 6’4” lanky self. For that I was grateful.

   A part of me didn’t believe Smii7y when he had said that whatever John tried had worked. I definitely believed it now, especially when Tyler’s long legs carried him over to me and he crushed me with a breathtaking hug.

    I grunted at the force with which I was being squished before responding in kind.

    “You smell terrible.” Tyler muttered into my shoulder. I let out a frustrated groan.

    “Thanks for the confidence booster. Do you have any idea-?” My voice was cut off as Tyler buried his face in my neck.

   The thick aroma of alpha, tangled with the smell of cinnamon and honey, seeped out from within the confines of his shirt. The smell itself soothes some primal part of me and I felt myself sink into his embrace.

    “Stop that. I’m sorry. What I meant to say was, you smell stressed and I hate it... especially cause I know it’s my fault.” He growled, his arms shaking as he tightened his grip around me.

    I tensed a little before burying my nose into the line between his jaw and his neck, where his scent came through the strongest. My legs felt like jelly as I held onto him as tight as I could.

    We stayed like that for a minute before I heard Kryoz clear his throat dramatically from somewhere in the room.

   I tilted my head around Tyler’s shoulder to see him standing next to Smii7y with a playful expression. Smii7y, on the other hand, looked pensive, which was an uncommon look for him.

    “If you guys wanted to fuck, you shoulda just let us know man. No one wants to be around to see you two-”

    “John.” Smii7y growled, effectively cutting off his partner with an elbow to the ribs.

    Kryoz gave him an incredulous look. “What? Why'd you hit me?”

    There was a flash of emotion in Smii7y’s eyes that I didn’t catch before he smiled impishly. “Just felt like it.”

    John glared down at his mate who returned the look with one of smug enjoyment. Tyler and I released each other to watch the scene unfold with reluctant amusement.

    “God, if you weren’t so cute, I’d fuck that pretty little mouth of yours.” John suddenly growled. (Quote: PUBG)

    “Alright, simmer down there captain.” I commented from across the room.

    “At least wait until we leave before you guys get nasty.” Tyler grumbled mockingly.

    Smii7y rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like you guys haven’t said stuff like that to each other in our presence before.”

   John gave his boyfriend a proud grin before attempting to plant a sloppy smooch to his cheek. I smiled as Smii7y made a face and pushed John away before the panther could kiss him.

    “Told ya. Avert your eyes babe. It’s been like this the whole time.” Wildcat groaned, covering my eyes with his hand. I chuckled and smacked his thigh lightly as he retracted his hand once more with a smile.

    “As you can see, we fixed him up and now he’s back to being a giant dick.” Smii7y complained, him and Tyler sharing a playful glare.

    “What did you guys do anyway?” I asked curiously. Tyler shifted next to me, his smile fading. I glanced up at him, uncertain about how to interpret the sudden shift in his mood.

    “They got me shit faced with some weird concoction and I passed out for a while. When, I woke up, I was in the _other_ place. Apparently, the drink put my subconscious to sleep, including the tiger, and I was able to-” The alpha paused, a strange emotion clouding the expressions of his face. “To detain _him_." He finished, adjusting the weight on his feet uneasily.

    I frowned. So far, I never had to imprison my leopard nor intentionally quiet its voice, but I heard that many people felt empty when they did it. They described it as being as if they had chopped off their own hand but couldn’t feel the pain.

   In the worst case scenarios, where the subcounter half of the mind was basically sentenced to death, people turned to hurting themselves just to fill the void where their subcounter should have been. Tyler wasn’t quite at this stage, but everything was only going to get worse from now on. Maybe one day dealing a finishing blow to the tiger half of Tyler might be the only solution... as well as my half. The thought made me sick.

    Kryoz narrowed his eyes at the estranged tiger while Smii7y rubbed his sweater paws together and placed his hands in his pockets. I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye as John nodded slowly.

    “Basically, that’s what we did.” The panther began explaining. “The drink we used is a common potion used by assassins called ‘ _suñesal'_. If anything, it’s like a roofie. We slip it into people’s drinks and it puts them to sleep. More than that, it sedates their subconscious so that they can’t use their demon sides to help them. This means that they can’t transform into their animal forms or use any fighting techniques they may have learned at any point in their life.

   "It also means that their healing abilities, as well as many other enhanced skills as a demon, are virtually unattainable. It basically takes a demon and makes them as weak and unskilled as a human child. I’m sure you understand what that means for the people we use it on.”

    I shivered internally as Kryoz watched me with a calculated gaze. “They can’t defend themselves.”

    Smii7y nodded and shrugged nonchalantly. “An easy kill if you ask me.”

   Sometimes, I had to remind myself that these two were hired guns. Easily, the duo had killed hundreds of people in their career despite being so young. Granted, the people they killed were all bad people, murderers and sex traffickers and/or human/demon experimentalists. Still, it felt unsettling to know that they could list a million ways to kill someone within a minute and exercise every single one of those ways before the person even knew what hit them.

    “What was the name of it again?” I asked, uneasily.

    “ _Suñesal_.” Smii7y responded this time. “Only assassins like John and I are allowed to have it because of our rank. Makes the job easier and faster so our ‘talents’ can be used elsewhere and on more people than the average lower class mercenaries such as the trainees.”

    I nodded thoughtfully.

 _Seems like good information to keep in mind_. The leopard in me noted, one blue-gray eye watching me from the darkness of my mind.

    I didn’t remember when it decided to wake from its usual slumber, but I quickly realized that Tyler, combined with the nature of our conversation, could’ve woken the animal.

   With a tinge of apprehension, it occurred to me that the leopard would also be on guard the next time I drank something at Kryoz and Smii7y’s house. In reality, I should’ve known the bastard would be too wary to let such pertinent information slip past its nose, especially because the effects could be designed to subdue it specifically.

    “Did anybody notice we were gone?” Tyler piped up beside me. I glanced over at him with narrowed eyes. 

   My thoughts from earlier came back to haunt me as I considered his question with another question:

    What if anyone but Brock had seen Tyler? What would we have done?

    “No one suspected anything, except Brock of course.” I responded with carefully measured words. Wildcat gave me an uncertain look, which I returned with a hint of pique.

   During our staring match, Kryoz discreetly reached over and squeezed Smii7y’s leg, an affectionate gesture commonly used between the pair. Smii7y looked up at him and nodded.  

    “You know, you guys could always stay for dinner. I think we’re having steak.” Kryoz interjected, seemingly indifferent.

   I opened my mouth to respond when Smii7y’s face dropped in realization and he turned to slap his mate in the chest. John reached up to clutch a hand over his chest dramatically.

    “What the fuck babe!? I’m gonna have a bruise by the time you’re done abusing me!”

    Smii7y simply stared at him, wide-eyed, a slight smile growing on his face. “Did we pull the food out from the freezer?”

   The two panthers peered at each other for a minute, trying to recall if they had. Evidently, the answer to the question was no as they both started laughing.

    “Well, I guess whatever we find now, you guys could stay to help us finish it.” John commented after a moment, still chuckling.

    “We would but we should probably get going.” Tyler responded softly. The couple shared that same look that they had been using all day before smiling.

    “Doesn’t matter to us how long you guys stay here. As long as you don’t mind the noise.” Smii7y responded, giving us a wink.

    “Alright! That’s enough for one day!” Tyler shouted loudly, eliciting laughter from the other two.

    After we exchanged our goodbyes with the panther couple, Tyler and I headed out towards the border. Neither of us spoke until we were safely across. Even then, silence drew out between us for a while as we walked.

    I wanted to question him about what had actually happened yesterday, but it was easy to see that Tyler wasn't in the greatest of moods.

   It was understandable why he wasn’t happy. Even if the potion had helped him gain control again, he still had to deal with the fact that he chained his tiger up and put more restrictions on the animal. I knew that he must think he betrayed his counterpart by doing so. After all, we’re meant to coexist with our subcounters, not bind and imprison them.

    Therefore, I understood why he was angry and I knew that the moment I started interrogating him, he would snap at me. If I asked Tyler about yesterday, about what Brock knew, we'd end up arguing, but I needed to know what happened.

    So, preparing myself for the fight that I knew was coming next, I finally spoke up. “Did anyone see you yesterday?”

    Wildcat shrugged. “Not really. Moo saw me but that’s about it.”

    “Why didn’t you tell me?” I inquired, trying to keep my anxiety out of my voice. “It would've been nice to be prepared when he started questioning me about how you were doing.”

    To my chagrin, Tyler simply shrugged again. “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning in the short time that we talked. Plus, he didn't just see me. He was the one that let me out of the room.”

    I glanced sideways at him in confusion. “What do you mean let you out? You said there wasn’t any trouble?”

    Tyler stopped, his blue eyes piercing mine as I stopped to stare at him. “I said there were a few mistakes, but I got out safely, which is the truth. You must have locked the door on your way out yesterday and I couldn’t figure out how to open it, so I was stuck until Moo came. Then, I snuck out the window. Now, are we caught up?” He growled, irritation rising in his voice.

    I shrunk a little bit, the leopard in me rising to its feet in the face of Tyler’s exasperation. It wanted me to calm him down by bowing out and acknowledging my mistake in making him angry, but the logical side of me knew that that wouldn’t help.

   So, setting my jaw firmly, I spun on my heel and continued on my way home. It took a moment before I heard the sound of Tyler’s footsteps following me.

    Even though I knew it went against his instincts, I was glad that he decided to stay a step behind me. Of course, we were both in the same predicament so our problem was essentially the same but, if there was one thing that I'd learned in my five years of dating the tall blue eyed demon, it was that we dealt with stress differently.

    Despite his expressive nature in most things, Tyler tended to bottle up his stress and his fears. Sometimes, this led to explosive outbursts of anger at things that nobody would realize he had a problem with.

   Me, on the other hand, I liked to talk about my problems to understand their depth and what the next steps should be. This was an obstacle that, until recently, I thought we had solved. However, this newest issue was steadily setting back all the progress that we had made, which was infuriating.

    “Craig?” Tyler’s voice appeared behind me.

    I stopped and ran a hand through my hair, my hands coming up to rest on my hips.

   “What, Tyler?” I sighed.

    “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” He muttered. I shook my head and turned to face him.

   “I know you didn’t. That’s the problem. We’re becoming more unstable, even around each other.” I gestured between us, anxiety tingling in my fingertips. Tyler shifted on his feet, his blue eyes pulsing with fear and worry. “What happens after we can’t calm each other down? The day when we get stuck for such a long time that we can’t do anything about it? What happens when they drive us into insanity and we can’t bring each other back from the madness?”

    “That won’t happen.” Tyler growled vehemently. I might've believed him if a flicker of uncertainty hadn’t flashed in his face for a split second. Anger and fear boiled up inside of me as I glared at him.

    “You have no guarantee of that.” I seethed. He flinched ever so slightly as I marched up to him. “I could shift, right here, right now, and, if my leopard so chose, we could run from your influence until we got what we wanted. We’re no longer in line with each other Tyler! Look at us! I say something, you snap. You say something, I get pissed off. Then, we don’t talk to each other for days on end. It’s becoming an almost guaranteed problem that we have to deal with more and more often and it’s only convincing my leopard more that we should do as it wants in order to solve the dissension between us. You’re smart Tyler. You should know all this! _And_ you should know that these aren’t good signs. I have no idea what your tiger is doing or how he thinks, but I know that it’s something along the same lines. If they have their way just a few more times, you know that going berserk is almost guaranteed.”

    During my speech, a slight red haze had tainted the edges of my vision, something that I didn’t realize until I stopped to take a breath. To my alarm, I could feel the leopard in the back of my mind stalking up behind me, looking for a single moment of weakness. My entire body tensed as I felt the ghost of malice brushing across my back.

    “Mini?” Tyler asked, his blue eyes suddenly coming back into focus in front of me.

    “He’s watching me.” That's all I could manage.

    For a moment, Tyler’s eyes widened in surprise before he reigned it in and reached the few inches between us to place a hand on my shoulder.

   “Alright. Alright well… Just try and concentrate on me.” He murmured comfortingly.

    “What do you think I’m doing?” I snarled, fear rising in my throat.

   The leopard’s ears perked up, it’s yellow eyes already gleaming with unwon victory. Even as I said it, I tried harder to see past the haze and into the blue of my companion’s eyes instead of focusing on the leopard.

   Needless to say, the animal was not very happy with the fact that I was deliberately ignoring it. I could hear it’s intentions hissing at the edges of my mind. The animal was willing to risk a fight if it meant that he got what he wanted. The realization that it was already so far gone in its thought process made my body break out into a cold sweat.

    “I’m here Mini. I’m not angry. I’m calm. You don’t need to worry.” In any other situation, it would have been startling to see Tyler so calm.

   However, a part of me understood that he was using an emotional ploy to keep the leopard at bay. If Tyler was calm, even for a little bit, and we were no longer arguing, than the leopard wouldn’t have strong enough footing to try and take over my mind.

    As Tyler continued raining reassurances upon me, he reached down and grabbed my hand, part two of his plan. I shrunk a little from the feeling of his hands encompassing mine as they brought it up to rest upon his chest. From there, I could feel the beat of his heart thrumming steadily through my fingertips. The feeling replaced my anxiety and, after several moments, I felt the leopard start to waver.

    Eventually, it began shrinking back into the darkness of my thoughts and I could feel my body grow weaker, as if I had been pressing against a brick wall with all of my might and the wall had unexpectedly started moving away. I stumbled a little closer towards Tyler and the heartbeat that was slowly becoming my focus.

    We sat for a while, clinging to each other until I was once again conscious enough to look up and see the worry polluting my lover’s eyes. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around and held me so tight that I was sure neither of us breathed for several seconds.

    “I love you Craig.” Tyler eventually whispered, his voice quivering with emotion.

    I sunk into his embrace with a groan. “I love you too Tyler.”

    It took me a bit longer to gain my strength back, so we simply sat basking in each other’s warmth. I tried to gather the courage to peel myself away from the tiger but, even when I did, Tyler continued holding on to me as tightly as he could. I didn’t really protest.

   This was something that I was starting to miss the most about our lives before we started getting stuck; the warmth and understanding of simply being around each other.

    I sighed heavily when Tyler finally started pulling away, albeit reluctantly.  My knees still felt weak and the leopard sulked in the back of my mind, understanding for once that it was defeated… for now.

    One look up at Tyler told me everything that he was thinking even before he said anything.

    “We have to figure something else out.” He murmured, his voice wavering.

    I sucked in a deep breath and let it out as smoothly as I could. “I know. I know.”

   A part of me wanted to run to Evan, to admit that something was wrong, or even Lui for that matter. They were both extremely intelligent in things outside of the realm of knowledge that came from what we already knew and what we learned from travelers from far away places. Both of them probably even knew of someone or something that could help us. Even Nogla could probably offer some of his alien-like expertise to help us handle it.

    Yet, the fear of what they would do if they couldn’t help us terrified me to no end.

    The pack had one of three options if we went feral. They could keep us in a coma for years on end until a more preferable solution came into creation, which could take hundreds of years. There was also the other option, where we could either cage our subcounters and put them to sleep or destroy them completely. With those solutions though, there was the chance of a hole forming in our minds and the slight chance that we would be reduced to nothing but an empty meat suit, no longer conscious of thought.

    The only other option would be to give the two of us a nice Coup de Grâce and torch the corpses.

    None of these were thoughts that the two of us liked. I knew Tyler was thinking of the same things as I looked into his eyes.

    “I don’t know what to do Mini. I’m sorry.” He whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

    I shied away from the sound. Tyler was such a stable and collected person despite his occasional outbursts of outrage. On the outside, he always seemed to have his crap together. To hear him sound so broken felt like someone took a sledgehammer and slammed it straight into my chest at full force.

    I reached up to cup his face gently between my hands, feeling the texture of his skin with the pads of my fingers.

   “We’ll figure something out.” I murmured softly.

    He shook his head lightly. “We always say that. What if we don’t figure something out?”

    To that, I had no response. There was nothing I could say. Admitting that I didn’t know what to do felt self-destructive, as if saying it would bring it into fruition. However, trying to convince, not only myself, but Tyler as well, that we were going to be okay would mean dishonesty between the two of us.

     So, I let the question hang in the air without an answer. Tyler watched with a grim understanding of my reactionless face.

   After a moment, he sighed and wrapped a single arm around my shoulders to pull me in for a somber hug. I leaned in to inhale his scent only to have the air catch in my throat, launching me into a fit of coughs that wracked my chest with vigor.

    Tyler recoiled from the effects and let go of me, shifting off to the side to rub my back with soothing motions.

    “I almost forgot you were sick after that whole speech.” Tyler commented with a tender smile.

    I grimaced and glared up at him. “What? You forget until I’m hackin’ up a lung?”

    He shrugged. “Pretty much. That’s just the person I am I guess. We should get home before I can’t sleep ‘cause you’re coughing too much.”

    I shook my head fondly and stood to face the taller once again. It was all in the fun to laugh and make jokes, but both of us knew we’d have to deal with this problem sooner or later. Right now, I just wanted to forget the day’s worries swathed in the warmth and scent of our pack.

    With one last look of comfort, Tyler placed a quiet arm around my shoulders and we continued on our way to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good lords it’s been a while. Firstly, I must apologize for the long delay. It’s been over a month since I posted last. I haven’t had the motivation to write for a little while and I was in Texas until about two weeks ago. School started again right after that so it’s been difficult to get the time to write. I finally finished this chapter- after reading and rereading it a thousand times over- this weekend because I’ve been sick the past few days, but hopefully the rest of the year won’t be as bad. ^^’  
> Excuses aside, a term that I forgot to mention in the notes at the beginning of this chapter was “suñesal”. I derived it from the Spanish word, sueño, which means “dream” and the Korean word, salinja, which is a term for “waster” or “ruiner” (these are rough translations btws~).
> 
> Another thing to mention is that I will post Kryoz and Smii7y’s digital designs on my DeviantArt by tomorrow. Most everyone’s design are already posted there, but I'm slowly working on coloring them in on my laptop using Krita.
> 
> Another thing that I must reiterate is that the entire world that this story is based in is all of my own creation. There is a bigger picture for all of this but this is just one story in the millions that I’ve created. That said, forgive me if there seems to be a lot of “information dump” sections in these first few chapters. It’s still a new concept for me to try and build a story in the mind of my readers according to something that has only ever existed in my head for years on end. Yet, to understand just how dire some situations are, I sometimes have to take a few paragraphs to explain what the problem is and how it fits into my universe. Hopefully, this is the last chapter that has a lot of information dumps.
> 
> I hope to get the next chapter out in the next two weeks at the latest and, hopefully, I can maintain that schedule for the rest of the story. I already have part of the next one written because it was originally part of this chapter but I split it up ‘cause this seemed like a good place to end this ordeal... for now.  
> Thanks for reading! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished on time guys! Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten my usual RDB (rough draft beta) to read this chapter since we usually meet once a month and it’s been less than two weeks since I posted the last chapter. However, one of my other betas helped me with this chapter so hopefully it’s good ^^ There were still a few missing parts though that I had to fill in and I didn’t intend for the flashbacks to happen but that’s where my writing took me so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ That said, during the entirety of this chapter, Evan switches from revisiting old memories to being in the present world. Flashbacks will always be written in italics.
> 
> Also, I must mention that, throughout this chapter, Vanoss refers to something called the “Data panel”. This is the panel from chapter two that I described in Evan’s subconscious where all the screens were. I also want to remind people that Evan and his leopard are two separate entities with different goals and obligations. Another thing I mentioned in the second chapter was that, in a person’s subconscious, there is a part of their mind that is filled with millions of filing cabinets full of their memories. These memories literally take the form of little vanilla folders that, when opened, project lifelike images of that time period. These will be included in the following writing.
> 
> Also, this chapter takes place on the same day as last chapter, but it goes back in time a little to explain what Evan was doing while Mini and Wildcat took care of their whole ordeal.  
> A minor detail to mention as well is that demons can "spawn" spare clothing to wear after transforming back into their animal forms. However, like a store, they have to keep clothing in stock in order to wear it. If they have an outfit, it'll automatically spawn when they shift back to their humans forms. If not, they're left in their skivvies~
> 
> Enjoy!

**Vanoss’ Perspective:**

Earlier that morning

   I woke up early that morning to an all too familiar itching sensation in my hands and feet. At first, I tried to ignore it in the hopes that it was a temporary fit, but the feeling persisted. Eventually, it got to the point where my body began to burn, the heat boiling just beneath my skin.

   I let out a hiss and receded into my subconscious only to be greeted by a blaze of fire next to my Data panel. Instinctively, I squinted my eyes to see past the fire to the leopard underneath.

   The animal sat, sleeping with his eyes closed while being completely engulfed in gold flames. The inferno remained roaring around him, but it was only a matter of time before they would begin spreading. 

   I growled, realizing that he was gonna be of no help to me this time, considering how deep of a sleep he was in.

   This sort of thing happened a lot more than I liked to admit. I was never sure the cause; although I had a suspicion that the leopard had nightmares sometimes. I was never entirely sure though because, every time he fell asleep like this, I was only able to sense bits and pieces of his dreams, vague pictures of fire and a place where everything was scorched.

   To me, these were nightmares, but the leopard gave off a sense of longing whenever he had these dreams. The images were always too murky and mutilated for me to be sure as to why he felt that way. Every time I tried to grasp what they were, they would immediately turn to dust and slip through my fingers, leaving me with a glimpse of that same fiery place and only the vague sense of knowing what I’d seen.

   Frustrated, I woke myself up and returned to reality. Looking down at the gray sheets on my bed, I realized that it was too late to save the soft fabric. Large marks in the shapes of my hand prints had burnt holes in my sheets in two different places. Sitting up, I glanced down and noted that the fabric was also starting to burn where my feet were.

   I sighed. _There goes another set. Should've grabbed some more sheets last night._

   Jumping up from the warmth of my bed, I didn’t bother grabbing any extra clothing as I headed out of my room and down the stairs with careful footsteps. It would be better to keep my hands and feet away from any such clothing to avoid burning them as well. I just needed to hunt; warm blood was sure to wake the leopard.

   Cautiously, I made my way downstairs, grateful that most of the floors were hardwood. I was more worried about the stairs themselves creaking but they made no sound under my heated feet as I crept down.

   Once I reached the bottom, I quickly glanced back to make sure that no one was coming. So far, nobody had caught me like this in the 7 years that any of us had lived together. I intended to keep it that way.

   Opening the door, I slipped out into the cold spring morning and gently closed it before shimmying out of the sweat pants I was wearing without using my hands. I suddenly felt grateful that I never wore shirts to bed. That would have made the whole situation much more difficult.

   As soon as my pants were off, I quickly kicked them over to a spot in between the bushes around our porch, a place specifically designated for clothing during runs.

   After making sure they were in the spot, I trotted out into the woods, shedding my human form and melting into the form of my leopard. It felt incredibly relaxing to be in my fur again and, as soon as I landed on all fours, I picked up the pace, searching for a squirrel or something to wake up the beast in my head.

   It took me longer than usual to find the trail of any sort of prey. I was a decent ways out from the house when the smell of rabbit made my head whip around.

   Carefully, I crouched and opened my jaw to scent the air. The faint, earthy tang of the animal came drifting across the scent glands on the roof of my mouth. I followed the smell and, within a few moments, I found the rabbit crouched down in a patch of weeds, nibbling on some grass.

   Needless to say, it didn't take long for me to chase down the fleet footed animal and deliver a near deathly blow across its head. I grimaced when I walked up to the creature, who sat stunned on the ground, and saw a scorch mark across one side of its face.

   Pitying the animal and disgusted with myself for putting it through unnecessary pain, I hurried to bow and roll on my back before tilting my head up to look into the rabbit’s dying eyes. Its fear glimmered in the soft brown irises therein and, for a moment, I was reminded of the rogue panther, Smii7y’s, eyes. Shaking off the thought with a growl, I groveled before the rabbit, immersing myself in the ritual.

   This was a tradition created by the first demons to land on Earth. By doing a roll of submission, we acknowledged that we were subordinate to our hunger.

   In my case, the ritual had always held a special place in my heart. It was the first memory that I inherited, the first thing I remembered how to do. In reality, it was also symbolic to me because I knew that I was subject to my leopard’s hunger as well as physical hunger.

   I watched with sympathy and pain as the rabbit's eyes became more and more cloudy. Then, with its last breath, I saw acceptance in its eyes. I stayed on the ground for several moments, holding a small vigil as the rabbit’s conscience faded from existence.

   Once I was sure he had gone and the cold of the morning started setting in, I stood and shook myself, dirt clinging to my pelt.

   The leopard remained asleep in his blanket of flames until the ritual was over, when I finally took a bite from the rabbit’s body and swallowed the tough, muscular flesh. The flames reduced to a faint glimmer and the leopard blinked open his dreary eyes. I reached out to him as I ate.

 _Care to elaborate on what just happened_? I inquired carefully.

   The leopard shook his large head, his bleary golden eyes flashing in a disorienting manner. For a while, he didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted his head and opened his mouth to scent the air, his fangs gleaming in the light from the screens. I sensed a slight alertness awakening in him as the taste of rabbit blood coated our tongue.

 _I’m not sure_. He responded forlornly. Sympathy welled up in my heart as I gazed over at the befuddled animal.

 _Do you think it was the same as usual_? I asked carefully.

   The leopard glanced up at me and shrugged miserably. _Maybe_.

   I nodded and sighed. _Sorry. I’m just curious._

   The tall spotted feline got up and stretched, his golden fur fluffing out so that he was ten times his usual size.

 _As am I_. He grumbled, pacing towards the millions of filing cabinets where my memories laid to search for any hints about our past.

   I munched on my food as I prepared for a Memory Session. Memory Sessions were what I called it when the leopard and I searched through my memories and re-lived each one to look for clues as to who I was. Such was our usual routine after he had these mysterious nightmares.

   The leopard's dreams were so vague that both the leopard and I wanted to know where he had seen these images before and what they could mean. However, I couldn’t remember anything about them and my memories only started up again during my teenage years. I literally remembered nothing of any sort of childhood I could've had. No matter how long I searched, I couldn't find anything about my past.

   On top of that, I didn't know who my mother and father were nor were there any official birth records for me anywhere in the world. For the past few years, I'd been sending Lui out on several missions across the world to try and find any record of where I had come from. That’s where he was supposed to be on his most recent mission with Nogla; searching for my lost history. So far, we had found nothing.

   My memories started at the age of sixteen; that’s all the leopard and I had found.

   I remember my first few years of what I like to call “conscience”, back when I discovered my abilities to shapeshifter. I was bored with my existence and unsure of what to do with myself. So, I made up a test to develop my shapeshifting abilities.

   For about a year, I traveled the world, testing my abilities by transforming into different demons and seeing if I could infiltrate various groups. My main goal was to have them accept me as one of theirs, to perfect my forms with so much detail that not even the original species could tell the difference.

   I visited every continent, figuring out how far I could push my body. The first few times had ended in disaster, but I steadily got better. Towards the end of that year, I found that the demons that fascinated me the most were the felines.

   When I was seventeen, I spent the year before I traveled to Noanric, two years before I found Moo, studying a pride of lions in Arifan **.**

   Beforehand, I had mastered transforming into almost every feline on the planet. My challenge during my time in Arifan, therefore, was figuring out how to let my body grow from a kid to an adult.

   You couldn't have asked me why this was my goal back then. Younger me would have told you I was curious. Current me will tell you that I missed out on an essential part of my life and that I never accepted the fact that I could never be a kid. In fact, I tore my body apart many times trying to be one.

   Making my body smaller and trying to make it grow when it knew it was already done growing was just as complicated as it sounds. There were many chemicals I had to learn about and different shapes to the bodies of a younger feline compared to an adult. I tried and failed several times over trying to perfect being a kid. The scars from that time period still litter my body to this day.

   I did succeed in my mission to some extent while continuing my original mission. After many blood filled nights, I was able to transform into a younger version of the adult lions I had studied during my time in Arifan. It felt horribly wrong to make the outer part of me young while my organs stayed the same age, but I managed.

   Eventually, I perfected the shift enough to try infiltrating the pride of lions I'd been studying. They were weary at first, as was to be expected. The good thing was that the young male lion I'd based my shifted appearance on was friendly. I would also realize years later that he had an alpha subgender as well.

   After a while, I became part of the pride. They accepted me into their ranks and, even though I was never given an official pride title, they still considered me their friends. The notion used to make my skin crawl with unease back then.

   Somewhere along the way, the pride I was with had gotten stuck in the crossfires of a war. Almost everyone in my group was injured during the battle so, taking advantage of their confused minds and eager to move to my next challenge, I used the many forms I had learned in my travels to protect them.

   That was the day I learned that I loved my leopard form the most. And thus, my subconscious appeared for the first time in his ethereal form as a leopard. He has stayed that way since.

   After single-handedly defeating the opposing groups who were fighting each other, both of them made of approximately 15 warriors each, I told them to solve their differences through diplomacy.

   Apparently, the two tribes thought highly of my skills and, a few days later, I ended up attending a meeting between the two ambassadors of the tribes to “keep the peace”. They solved their dispute- it was over water rights if I remember right- and I promptly vanished to Noanric to figure out what my next challenge was going to be.

   On other continents, there aren't many humans. I always assumed that this was caused by the many wars waged between demons in other places, as well as the defenselessness of humans against such demons. Even if that was the case, not many humans were supposed to have survived the impact, nor were they supposed to be in our dimension. There were only a select few that made it to Earth and lived to tell the tale.

   Noanric seemed to be the place where most of these few had landed and repopulated. Their survival was probably helped by Zephyra, who was doing all she could to protect them and steadily figuring out how to get humans and demons to coexist.

   All these factors and more gave the humans of Noanric a sort of unattainable air. Naturally, that made me want to study them more.

   For the longest time, I stayed on the outskirts of the cities, studying traffic and the mannerisms of tourists and travelers. Eventually, I got enough confidence to get up close and personal by going into the cities.

   It took me a few months of studying several places across the continent to learn the language and various dialects, but I became proficient in almost every variation of speech shortly after that. Most of the what I learned was human dialect, but there were some demons that I was able to study as well. For the most part though, the cities I studied were human cities and I spent a majority of time in them. Therefore, it didn’t take me long to discover the darker underlyings of the continent’s humans.

   Two months before I found Moo, I heard through the grapevine that there was an organization of people who were going to “save” the humans. Curious, I followed the rumors to a human experimentalist lab. Of course, I didn't know what it was at the time. It just seemed interesting.

   I quickly found that it was interesting, but in a morbid way. The humans captured demons with what I reluctantly admitted were impressive and unique techniques, including using Dog Demons to hunt down the people that they wanted. I was never sure what these humans were testing but, being the curious yet reckless person I was, I decided to get a closer look.

   So, I stole one of the staff member's identities, robbed him of his identification cards, and put him in a coma for about a month. To this day, I’m not sure how I did it or how I knew how to put the human to sleep for so long, but I had other things on my mind at the time.

   With my new identity, I wandered into the base and studied the humans there for about two weeks before I became increasingly disturbed by what they were doing. The day that turned me was the day that I witnessed the butchering of an innocent jackal demon who screamed for mercy. Of course, the humans couldn’t understand that he was pleading for his life, but I did.

   I planned to attack the base that night and release all the demons from their horrible state. After all, I had defeated over 30 demon warriors from the Arifan tribes of Molraki barely a year before that. It shouldn't have been difficult. However, I was arrogant back then, unaware of the dangers my mission entailed.

   Far back behind hundreds of memory cabinets, the leopard had pulled out a drawer and began leafing through it with a claw until he apparently found what he was looking for. With a fleeting glance up at me, he prepared to open the folder while I set our body into autopilot. Taking a deep breath, I sunk into the newest folder of memories and began my search.

**_Flashback:_ **

**_******_ **

_I crept through the long cement halls, avoiding every flash of light coming from the guards. Each guard was loaded with at least one rifle and two pistols, plus several knives, searching for people like me. They were as dangerous as they were many, but I was too smart for them. Their floor plans were too predictable._

   This is gonna be a sinch. _I thought to myself as I slipped through the shadows and past yet another guard on my way to the room where almost a hundred imprisoned demons lay waiting for me to rescue them._

_Earlier that day, I had snuck out a set of keys from the Cage Keepers, the people in charge of opening and closing cages during extraction and re-entry. I didn't know what their official title was, but Cage Keeper had a nice ring to it._

_Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that hard to sneak away with an extra set of key. The humans in the lab lived in a state of complacency. They were used to having no threats whatsoever around them considering they had guards all around the building and at every possible entryway, even the vents. I only knew this because I checked several times in the two weeks I'd stayed in the labs._

_They were cautious, I had to give them that, but not cautious enough to keep someone like me out._ _They would learn not to trust anyone after tonight._

_It didn’t take me long to reach the one room I was looking for, but I had to wait out a guard before I could slip past. I considered shifting into an animal more convenient for smaller entries, like a rat, but I didn't. Honestly, I was afraid of forgetting the identity I had stolen and that I would lose my cover. The simple thought sent shivers down my spine._

_In one of the cages, I remembered seeing a beaten fox demon who I planned to release first. It took me a second to find the number but, when I did, I immediately crouched down and hunched over to unlock the cage._

_“_ I wouldn't do that if I were you _.” A strange, accented voice appeared from the darkness behind me. The words sounded like a mix between canine and feline speech, something I’d never heard before. “_ I would hate to see another innocent fried. You probably can't understand me either though. _”_

_Slowly, I turned to find the voice, apprehension making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. No one stood behind me and all of the cages were pitch black though. With a glance up and down the long hall of metal enclosures, I found that no one was around._

_“M_ aybe you can still hear me… _” The voice speculated. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the glinting of teeth as the person spoke._

_Still crouched, I crawled over to the source and peered into the cage. A soft pair of sickly green eyes watched me intently from behind the bars. I tilted my head a little, not entirely familiar with this demon’s speech patterns._

_“I think I do understand you. Who are you?” I questioned tentatively._

_The demon’s eyes flashed with surprise. "_ That should be my question. _”_

_I shifted on my feet and checked over my shoulder for any guards. Every instinct in my body told me not to reveal my true identity, or at least what little I knew about it. Still, a part of me was curious about this demon. He was strange._

_“My name is Evan.” I told the animal, using the only piece of knowledge that I knew for a fact._

_The demon squinted his eyes, his pupils becoming distinct slits in the darkness. "_ Okay... Evan. You can understand me. The boy you're wearing never could. So, _what_ are you? _”_

_I peered further into the darkness to get a better look at what I assumed was some sort of feline based on its eyes. The animal's speech sounded nothing like any demon that I had ever met though, let alone any feline._

_Gazing into the cage, I caught a glimpse of a long, skinny tail flicking back and forth in the moonlight. It was attached to what I could only make out as a huge mound of thick, ragged fur hidden by shadows._

_“Don’t worry. I’m not a human.”_

_The demon huffed. “_ Obviously. If you’re not a human, then you must be a demon. So I ask again. What _are_ you? _”_

**********

   I remember feeling disconcerted by the demon’s question at the time.

   Of course, I understood what the demon meant, even if the words were distorted by his accent. I later learned that he was a werecat, a species that I had never met until that night in Noanric.

   Up until that fateful night, I never considered myself a part of one “species”. Truly, I was right to say so as well. I could make myself into virtually any demon, but I never had a fixed identity or appearance and, despite my ever extending travels, I had never met another shapeshifter like myself.

   Even after I did meet Lui, the only other shapeshifter I knew, I realized that it was strange for me to not have a fixed appearance in any of my forms. Yes, he could transform into virtually anything but, when he wasn't shifted and resembling something, he was himself, a unique identity that was his to own.

   Me, on the other hand, I didn't have anything like that. I had to create an identity for myself out of everything I had observed. The designs of every physical form I took in the present days was a conglomerate of something I had seen and made my own over the years.

   It was that night, the night that I tried to take over the human lab, that I discovered the issue with my memories as well as the problem with my non-existent identity.

   The leopard closed the file for the time being just as I finished eating the rabbit between my paws. I could sense his unease at being out in the open.

 _We should find somewhere else to continue._ He stated firmly.

   I sighed and nodded, surfacing from my memories. _Wanna go to the rock?_

   The leopard glanced sideways at me before nodding and gently picking up the memory folder in his jaws to carry over to the Data panel. I watched him turn in circles and settle down underneath his pole with the chain. Once I was sure that he was comfortable, I returned to the conscience world.

   The feeling of drying blood smeared across my muzzle felt satisfying in an animalistic sense. Even the dirt felt relieving against my skin, which until a little bit ago had been searing with heat.

   I discovered a long time ago during a failed shapeshifting test that I was impervious to fire and heat, even if my body was engulfed in flames. Despite this, fire still left my skin feeling as if someone kept dragging dull fingernails all across my body. The fire that burned within me these mornings had the same affect. It was extremely uncomfortable to say the least.

   Shaking myself and stretching my limbs, I deposited each of the rabbit’s bones, which I had stripped clean, into a nearby bush and covered them with a small mound of leaves and grass. The Decomposers would take care of the rest.

   Bowing my head once again, I murmured my gratitude towards the animal and headed towards the eastern border where the waterfall and my rock sat waiting for me.

   The place was halfway across the territory, so it took me a while to get there. It took longer than usual since I also stopped by a stream to wash the blood from my muzzle before continuing on my way.

   As per usual, the faint whisper of the waterfall greeted me before anything else. The closer I got, the stronger the smell of moss and wet bark tickled the sensory nerves in my nose.

   Eventually, I came out of the treeline at the top of the waterfall. Normally, I would dive right off the cliff as I had done a few days ago. However, I reminded myself that this was all water from the mountains, meaning it was melted snow water and cold as hell.

   The other day it had been fine because the sun had warmed the water by the time I got to it that night. Right now though, it was probably about 8 in the morning and there was still frost on the ground.

   So, I simply turned and began carefully picking my way down the rocky cliff side to the pool below.

   When I reached the pit of water, I took a deep breath and waded into the pool until the freezing water covered my back. With a shiver, I dove under the surface and let the water soak in beneath my pelt. I rolled around several times and scrubbed my paws across the bed of the pit to wash them of the dirt and blood left on them.

   As soon as I was sure that I was mostly clean, I came back up and drug myself out of the water, my skin tingling as the cold morning air hit it. I shivered and shook myself before sitting and taking the chance to use my tongue to dry my fur.

   The only good thing about my leopard was that he could easily heat my body with his fire. Therefore, it didn't take long for me to dry off enough to rest.

   Leaving the remaining drying to the rising sun, I jumped up on my usual rock and sat for a second, admiring the waterfall before curling up on the smooth surface of my perch.

   After I made myself comfortable on the rock, I delved into my subconscious once more to continue on with the Memory Session I'd started earlier. The leopard watched me, waiting for me to sit down next to him.

   With a hint of amusement, I walked over and sat in the curve of the leopard’s side. He growled at the closeness for a moment before seeming to let it go and re-opening the folder.

**********

_I refrained from shaking my head in confusion at the mysterious demon's question. “I’m not sure.”_

_The demon squinted. “_ What do you mean you aren’t sure? _”_

_I scowled at the glowing green eyes. “I mean I’m not sure what I am. Anyway, that’s besides the point. I don’t have much time so do you mind explaining why I can’t just open the cage with these keys?”_

_The demon rolled his eyes at me. “_ These locks aren’t that simple. You can’t just unlock them with the keys. If you do, you get instantly electrocuted, demon or not. There’s a certain way you have to do it and precautions to take to avoid being fried. I’ve seen it happen to too many innocents who have tried to free us but didn’t know about the traps. _”_

_I shook my head. “If being electrocuted is the only thing that happens, then it wouldn’t affect me.”_

_“_ Yes it would you arrogant dick. _” Green Eyes snarled in bafflement._

_“No. It wouldn’t. Electricity is heat. Heat doesn’t seem to have had any affect on me. At least, not that I can remember.” I argued, shivering involuntarily at the memory of the Mainra villagers trying to burn me alive after they found out that I had deceived them._

_The animal in the cage shifted, his fur making light brushing sounds on the walls of his surroundings. The sound made my head tilt a little. It was one that I normally associated with coarse fur, which made this demon even more strange. I had never met a feline with coarse fur. Normally their fur was soft._

_“_ I don’t think that matters. The humans are smart. They probably have- WHAT THE FU-!?”

_Before the demon could finish either of his sentences, I reached for the lock and, with a few deft movements, stuck the key in and twisted it, the locking mechanism clicking open._

_Immediately, I felt a terrifyingly vibrant rush of electricity blast through my body, from my hand down to my toes._ _The sensation drained through my feet, leaving me feeling as if someone had just punched me right in the sternum. I sucked in a breath and choked on the air, the feeling making me want to cough. However, I was quickly reminded that I had to be quiet. So, I sat, hunched over, struggling to breath._

_The feeling of the cage door swinging open and smacking me in the head made me jump. Before I had time to react, a set of firm teeth latched onto my hand. The sharp ends of several daggers dug into my skin with painful clarity considering that was the hand that just got shocked._

_Startled and terrified that I had just released a dangerous demon and not one of the friendly ones, my head snapped up to look at the animal. What I saw made me so sick that I hunched back down into my previous position and cried for the second time that day._

_The demon looked half wolf- half feline, but his fur had been stripped in several places. The marks of abuse and malnourishment were evident on the exposed skin below. There were slight black tufts on his ears overshadowing his sunken face, but, even in the moonlight, I didn’t have a single guess as to what color the rest of his fur was or had been._

_Swallowing my sickness, I glanced under my arm, watching the demon crawl further out of the cage. In between two awkwardly bent paws, each of them easily the size of my head, the demon held my hand and sat licking it with an obsessive protectiveness, his eyes blown wide with fear._

_From here I could see that what I had referred to as several teeth gripping my hand had actually been his front two canines. With loathing, I realized that what I felt was the cracked ends of two thick trunks. I assumed that these were the broken remnants of a pair of long sabre-like teeth in the animal’s mouth._

_As I gazed up at his face, I quickly noticed a long line of darker fur, extending down to the demon’s chin. It took another moment for me to understand that these were tear lines, something I’d heard about and studied but never seen up close. The demon’s eyes were bloodshot and tainted with tears as he cried over my injured hand._

_The heat from the electricity had dissipated from my hand, yet my skin still felt warm and, as I glanced at the demon’s shoulders, I understood why. Barely extended from the cage, the animal's chest bounced with uncanny speed as he tried to catch his breath. The motion resembled a heartbeat with how fast it was pulsing and, before I could even think about it, I did the unthinkable._

_Without removing my hand from the jaws of the demon, I draped myself over his shoulders and hugged his head tightly to my chest with my free arm. Half of me fully expected the demon to tear my heart out. He definitely outweighed me and his head was gigantic. The entire thing covered the expanse of my chest and what was worse was that I could feel the power in the animal's jaw under my fingertips. Despite probably starving to death, he was intimidating._

_However, there was another half of me that night that I'd never acknowledged until that moment. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, the only thing I felt as I held that large head against me was concern for this person's health. It was this half of me that vibrated with triumph as the demon stopped his administrations and sunk into my embrace._

_I shushed the animal lightly, letting my scent coat him. After a while, he let go of my hand and I was able to run my fingers through his course fur. Despite the blood and oils I could feel coating my fingers as I did so, I continued petting the demon. In the back of my mind, I felt an incessant tingling which warned me that we were still in danger, but I ignored it._

_We stayed like that for a long while. Even though the demon was probably longer than me and his shoulders were huge, I felt like e was the small one instead of me. Then again, it didn't really surprise me. This person had been beaten and broken so many times. Even the strongest of us need a shoulder to cry on every once in a while._

_The guards must have been asleep or doing a terrible job at keeping guard, but we stayed there for a while until the demon caught his breath and stopped crying. Only then did I pull away to look down at him._

_“_ Why did you do that? _” The demon muttered, his voice catching lightly in his throat. Then, he tensed and pulled away to look up at me, his green eyes glowing intensely. “_ More importantly, _how_ did you do that?”

_I shifted back a little and furrowed my eyebrows. “I told you it wouldn’t affect me.”_

_Exposed by the moonlight, I could see that the demon’s eyes were quite pretty behind the film of sickness and tears that had formed over his eyes. With a shiver, I realized that his eyes were probably damaged from being tested on as well._

_“_ Who are you? _” The demon asked, awe stretching across his sunken face._

 _I simply gazed down at him, not quite sure if the question was rhetorical. “Who are_ you _? I told you my name. What’s yours?”_

_The demon’s eyes became glazed at this, his gaze shifting sideways to look somewhere past me._

_“_ I’m not sure. _” He responded, uncertainty clouding his expression. “_ It's been awhile. The others won't speak to me. They’re afraid. They fear that the humans will hear us, but the humans don't understand our speech. I don't understand it and I don't remember. I’m pretty sure I had a name.But I can’t remember what it was... _”_

_With those words, my view of the world increased tenfold._

**********

   Disturbed, not for the first time, by what humans were still doing to hundreds of demons around the continent, I resurfaced from my memory with a gasp.

   With several shaky breaths, I leaned back, away from the Memory Folder, and rested my head against the warmth of my leopard’s side. The leopard, on the other hand, remained entranced in the vision, his eyes seeing but not focusing on anything in particular.

   I realized as I sat next to the animal that he wasn’t just searching for my history today. Instead, I he was intently analyzing everything that we had seen that night, from the way the guards worked to the locking mechanisms on all the cages. I belatedly remembered that this would be necessary for the mission that Zephyra had given us.

   With a start, I also remembered that Zephyra knew about the very incident that we were reviewing. She had been there towards the end of the whole ordeal.

   It took a moment for me to register that the leopard was also continuing the memory without me, meaning he was farther in the timeline. So, steeling myself, I looked down at the folder again and let the vision consume me once more.

**********

_“_ That’s idiotic. What were you thinking? _” Green Eyes hissed incredulously._

_I glared at the demon, who was now voluntarily seated once again in his cage with the door closed. He refused to come back out as I tried to convince him that I could rescue him and the others._

_“It’s smart. What are you talking about? I’ve defeated many people before and I've traveled the world. I know more about this place than you could ever hope.”_

_The demon rolled his eyes so far back in his head that all that I saw for a moment was white. “_ You sure are a conceited son of a bitch aren’t you? You do realize that even if you unlocked all the doors, we could never escape without a ton of help _.”_

_“And why is that?” I demanded._

_Green Eyes grimaced and averted his gaze, his eyes flickering briefly to his paws. “_ You really don’t know anything about this place do you _?”_

_I shook my head. “Not really. I’ve only been here for like two weeks.”_

_The demon glanced up at me with a hint of confusion before sighing. “_ They broke our legs _.”_

_“What?”_

_“_ They broke our legs! _” Green Eyes hissed bitterly, his eyes flashing angrily. “_ The moment we get here, they break our legs so that we can’t escape or fight back even if we wanted to. Then, if we regenerate or heal or figure out how to walk again, they break ‘em again. That’s how it works. They’ve stripped everything from us. They even took… They even took our names. _”_

_I watched with a deep sense of loathing as Green Eyes let out a humorless chuckle and sunk into himself._

_These humans would pay. These humans would pay for what they did. Not now though. Not at that time. Through my interaction with the broken demon in the cage of the lab, my view of the world had expanded ever so slightly, enough for me to see that he was right. I hadn’t thought any of this through._

_“What do you suggest I do then?” I inquired dubiously._ _The demon shrugged._

 _“_ I'm not sure. Many humans and demons alike have tried to free us in the time that I’ve been here. Some of them succeeded in getting a few others out, but none have pulled off a full scale offense.

   "However, I can tell you that there are many spies in this building. Whether they are human or demon, I couldn't tell you, but I've seen them around. They spend too much time looking at locks and glancing around the room ‘observing’ everything to be ordinary workers. Some of them have collected in groups. I think there's something going on. At least, I hope so _.” The demon informed me._

_“Could you point them out to me?” I inquired._

_“_ Not without compromising whatever operation they may or may not be conducting. _” Green Eyes responded._

_I hummed in consideration. A little bit of help was better than no help, but was no help better if the other option was revealing myself and the others to the experimentalists?_

_“_ Although… _” The demon continued thoughtfully. “_ I have heard a name whispered between these few. They always talk about someone named Savannah. I don't know what kind of person this Savannah is, but if you can find her without compromising yourself, you might have a chance of getting at least a little bit of help. A shapeshifter like yourself might be of some use to any resistance group trying to help us escape _.”_

_I nodded before squinting in confusion. “What’s a shapeshifter?”_

_Green Eyes shook his head and sighed. "_ Man do I wish I had more time to get to know you. You said you don’t know what you are. So, do you have an animal form? _”_

_I nodded. “I have thousands.”_

_“_ That makes you a shapeshifter. _” Green Eyes muttered in what I sensed was an exasperated voice. “_ Next time someone asks you what you are, tell them that you're a shapeshifter. It could either help you or you could be thrown in here as well. Shapeshifters are rare and very valuable to both humans and demons for a number of reasons. _”_

_I hummed thoughtfully. “I’ll keep that in mind.”_

_After a moment, the demon’s head tilted up, his ears twitching ever so slightly. “_ You should get going. The guards are coming this way. _”_

 _I shifted on my feet to look around just in time to see a light coming down one of the columns of cages a ways away from me. “I think you’re right. I have to get going but I_ will _be back to save you guys if it’s the last thing I do."_

    _At first, I was surprised with myself for saying something so daring. I didn't actually know if I'd be back or if I could save everyone. Up until that point, I'd had no reason to care about anyone but myself. Yet, here I was, promising to save not only one stranger but over a hundred others as well._

_Sometimes, I wonder if Green Eyes saw my moment of hesitation. I think part of him saw it for he gave a doubtful look and made a considerable hum._

_“_ I sure hope you do help us. _” He muttered with a shake of his head. In his eyes, I saw the sadness I'd seen before when he talked about the other people who tried to save him and failed._

_“I don’t need your hope." I snapped before I could stop myself. "I need your belief. Believe that I will be here for you and I will never let you down.”_

_The conviction in my voice seemed to surprise both of us as we stared at each other. I will never forget the look of awe that the demon fixed me with though. It was one that would drive me to do better and be kinder for years to come._

_With those words, I stood to walk away, hearing the footsteps of the guard draw closer. I only got a few steps away when the demon’s voice drifted up to me again._

_“_ Evan _?” He whispered quietly. I stopped, making sure not to make myself obvious. “_ Brock.”

_I turned slightly to look at the demon again. “What?”_

_The demon’s eyes brightened ever so slightly, the cloud of confusion giving way to triumph as he looked up at me._

_“_ My name is Brock. _”_

**\---- A week after this incident----**

_Throughout the week, I continued to work on a plan to get the demons out of their cages. I searched for the demon Brock had told me about, but it turned out to be unnecessary. A week later, she found me instead._

_I was wandering through the woods outside of the human’s lab, trying to find a secret way in, when someone literally jumped out of a tree and landed directly in my path. The distinct feeling of terror shot through my mind as so many possibilities went racing through my thoughts._

_Maybe it was the humans. Maybe they figured out who I was. Or it could be the Dog Demons who I'd seen capture people just to throw them in the lab._

_Immediately, I crouched into a fighting stance. Before I could react though, the person raced up to me and reached over to sling an arm around my shoulders._

_“Wassup fucker!?” The person spoke in an overly enthusiastic voice._

_I tried to grab onto the arm so I could flip them over my side, but, as soon as I put any force into it, the person grabbed me instead and tossed me over their shoulder. The next thing I knew, I was staring up at the stars above me, stunned at how quickly I'd been taken down._

_Without a second to spare, I jumped up and lunged for the person. Easily, they side stepped me and I collided with the ground on the other side of the clearing we stood in. I turned again with a hiss, my muscles bunching for another attack. It wasn't until I actually caught sight of my attacker that I paused._

_Standing in front of me with a smug grin across her face, stood a girl who looked to be about just a few inches shorter than me. If anything, she probably stood at a good 5'5", tall enough to reach my chest. Despite her stature, however, I knew she was a teenager from her face alone. The thought made me hesitate._

_For several moments, either of us moved. The pause gave me a chance to analyze her and I felt a thrill of panic race through me as I noted the girl's eyes._

_In the moonlight, her irises were almost non-existent. They were so dark that they almost blended in with the shadows of her face which was perfectly framed by long afro-like hair. The girl's dark skin didn't help me feel any better about the demonic look in her eyes either and it simply served to make her look more intimidating. There was something dangerous and brooding about her gaze as she stared down at me._

_"What? You've never been bested by a ten year old?" The girl sneered, two pointed fangs glittering in the moonlight._

_"Ten?" I uttered in disbelief, my attention lapsing for a split second. The girl simply continued smiling with that devilish grin of hers._ _“Who are you?”_

_"Isn't it obvious?" The girl chuckled with a gesture to herself. "There ain't no one else in the world like me."_

 

_I shivered as she spoke, the instincts in the back of my mind telling me to run. For all I knew, she could have been a spy or a demon sent to capture me. I didn't know who she was and, even though backing down meant cowardice, it was better than being putting in the lab._

_“Hello, Evan.” The girl continued after a moment. Her voice held no ounce of doubt and, for the first time in my memories, I remember feeling intense foreboding in my stomach. “They said you’d be out here.”_

_I shook my head in a daze. “Who… who said that?”_

_The girl- the ten year old child- grinned eerily. “That’s for me to know and for you to never find out.”_

_Swallowing my distress for a moment, I tasted the air to see if I could smell her or any others back up she might have, but I couldn’t. The only thing I could smell was the wet bark around me._

_Growing increasingly disturbed, I tried to see if the girl had any other defining traits besides her hair and her teeth, but found nothing. To anybody else, she could have seemed completely normal. I wasn’t convinced._

_“I heard through the grapevine that you want to help me.” The girl pressed on with a smile that could have passed as friendly to anybody else._

_Confusion swept through me as I considered what she meant. I hadn't made any deals to help anyone recently though._

_“What are you talking about?” I growled, straightening to my full height as frustration began boiling in my veins._

_To my surprise, the girl let out one of the longest, most exasperated groans I've ever heard in my life. She even threw her head back, her grin disappearing for the first time as she turned around and put her hands on her hips._

_“Why the fuck am I even talking to you!?" The girl shouted into the forest before spinning around to fix me with an accusatory glare. "No wonder Brock sent me to find you. You were too stupid to find me.”_

_I lunged forward on reflex, fully intending to deck this child in the face. The only thing that stopped me from doing just that was when I processed what she'd said._

_“Wait…_ Brock _sent you?”_

_The girl rolled her eyes and groaned impatiently. “Gods, you’re slow! Yes! I said Brock. Ya know, the werecat you’ve been talking to all week?”_

_“The were-what?” I muttered, confusion making my eyebrows furrow together._

_“Ugh! Ya might as well scoop my eyes out with spoons! It would be better than this shit!”_

_I shook my head, mystified by this child’s antics. “So, you know Brock…”_

_“And Brock knows you.” She growled in a frustrated tone of voice._

_I glared half-heartedly at the child. Then, something occurred to me. “Hold on. Are you Savannah?”_

_The girl winked, her fanged smile glinting in the moonlight._

**********

   The feeling of the memories releasing me felt disturbing after spending so long enveloped in their embrace.

   I sighed and laid my head back against the belly of the large leopard behind me.

 _What does it mean?_ I asked, not entirely expecting an answer.

   The leopard’s thoughts held no hints for me as we sat there. Unlike me, he didn’t feel the need to talk in order to express his feelings. Instead, his soft fur and deep, rumbling breaths exuded an air of disappointment and speculation.

   On a pad of paper in between his paws, the details of the entire lab that we had seen in my memories were scrawled in bold writing. Everything from locking mechanisms to the floor plans for the guards to the way certain doors were maintained and what time of day the humans were least to most wary was all written down. Then, at the bottom of the page, the name “Savannah” was written in all caps and red ink.

   The girl I met that night was definitely Savannah without a doubt. Sassy, sharp tongued, an asshole... a kid... like me.

   Since we met that first night, I learned many things about the young warrior. First and foremost, Savannah turned out to be a high class lieutenant in one of the many assassination organizations under Zephyra’s command. Generally, I found that this meant that Zephyra only put the young demon on cases where the odds of freeing the prisoners were dangerously low.

   The place where Moo had been kept was studied for almost two years before Savannah was sent to help. It took another year after that for them to release everyone. The event also just so happened to be Savannah’s first mission and she finished it a week after I met her. In other words, I only showed up for the fun part.

   After the night I met the demon child, I joined forces with Savannah and we spent another week finishing preparations. At first, I still didn't trust her. Eventually though, I understood her and I saw a part of her in me. The fact that she was helping me free Brock and the others was an added bonus.

   Savannah explained to me that she had taken a daunting amount of time mapping out every little detail about how to free everyone and it showed. By the time we infiltrated the lab, it took less than an hour to apprehend the humans.

   Zephyra appeared in all her dazzling glory immediately after the fight to spirit the many injured demons away to a place to be healed. Even then, Zephyra bewildered me in the most unsettling ways. That was the first time that I met her and, considering I helped pull off such a stunt, the Demon-Wolf apparently decided to keep an eye on me since then.

   Part of me considered contacting Savannah to ask her for some advice on taking down the lab I was now in charge of. The last time I'd talked to her though was over three years ago. We'd kept in contact up until that point, but I hadn't heard anything from her since then.

   These were all important facts to remember as my memories left me with a feeling of triumph.

   Despite feeling deterred by knowing that I couldn’t have freed everyone alone, I still felt incredibly delighted that I'd played my part in freeing almost a hundred demons from their terrible conditions.

   The sensation slowly drained as I came back to reality though.

   Sure, I had defeated many foes in those years and the years following. However, there was now another group of prisoners to worry about, not to mention the pack that I just so happened to be the leader of. Back then, I had jumped into the challenge and welcomed it with open arms.

   Nowadays, I couldn’t be so careless. There were still many people besides the prisoners in the lab that were depending on me. Yet, I knew that I would have to start scouting out this new place that Zephyra spoke of. It would take a long time and I had no idea where to start.

   In the present, I was nowhere near obtaining victory with these new prisoners, let alone gaining success in maintaining my own pack’s health.

   So, acknowledging that we were defeated for now, I returned to the conscience world and let my body drift into sleep.

   I was just starting to doze off when I felt the barrier near the rock I was laying on flex. Cracking an eye open, I bit back a hiss of surprise as I came face to face with a small, white and brown flecked bird. It watched me with unmistakable attentiveness as I lifted my head to glare at it.

   “ _I almost just ate you, Lui_.” I snarled at it in a dialect unique to us shapeshifters.

   The small bird fluttered his tiny wings and chirped at me in a high pitched voice. “ _Fine by me. I would have tore your mouth apart by the time you tried to swallow me though._ ”

   I scowled at the tiny creature. “ _Would you like to test that theory_?”

   Lui puffed his feathers out and made a motion at me with his wings. “ _Bring it on, assbutt."_

   I snorted. “ _I swear, you spend way too much time with Nogla._ ”

   Lui shrugged, smoothing his wings out again. “ _He’s good company._ ”

   I smirked. “ _And how long did you spend ‘studying’ his wings this time_?”

   The tiny bird glared at me with a heat unique to the shapeshifter. Then, he shuffled his wings in a fashion that reminded me of Nogla and sighed.

   “ _Probably close to an hour or two. He was interested in a book he started and wouldn’t shut the damn light off so I decided to join him. Besides, it’s not my fault that I spend so much time with him. He’s the only other one that knows about your little secret._ ”

   I shifted awkwardly, acutely aware of the slightest change in his expression and a nervous tick developing in his left wing. Lui paused as I reached out a large paw to place next to him. He watched the appendage approach him with a daunted expression.

   “ _What did you find Lui_?”

   The bird continued looking at my paw for a while before sighing. “ _Nothing. Again._ ”

   I quirked an eyebrow and frowned. “ _Well, that’s not promising._ ”

   Lui nodded. “ _We checked down south on the west coast but we still couldn’t seem to get any leads. We went through all the records for every shapeshifter who was born or went missing there in the past 30 years. There wasn’t any hints at all. Not even the slightest whiff that you were ever there._ ”

   I sighed and laid my head down on my rock. Somehow, I knew they wouldn’t find anything. I couldn’t quite remember where I had been when my memories started up which made it harder to track where to start looking for my history. It didn’t help that I knew nothing of the concept of language when I started out so I couldn’t trace my whereabouts from there either.

 “ _Hey_.”

   I held back a sneeze as Lui hopped onto my muzzle and leaned over to look directly into my eyes.

   “ _We’ll find something. It just takes time, and patience. Have faith._ ”

   I huffed irritably. It was my job as the _Lafaino_ of my pack to look after everyone’s health and yet here I was being constantly comforted by the very people I was supposed to protect. To make matters worse, I knew they weren’t coming to me for their problems.

   “ _Thanks Lui. You did good._ ” I reluctantly complimented the shapeshifter.

   Lui dipped his head and beat his tiny wings to lift himself off of my nose. “ _Cheesy stuff aside, cause I know you hate it  and you’d rather not hear it right now, want to race me back to the house?_ ”

   I smiled as I stood to climb down from my rock. “ _You sure you want your ass kicked so soon_?”

   Lui made a twittering sound in his chest as he chuckled. “ _I could use the wakeup call_.”

   I shrugged and began stretching every limb of my body while Lui swooped down to cuff my ears at random intervals. When I finished my stretches, I glanced up at the brown and white bird and smiled.

   “ _Suit yourself. Ground or air?_ ”

   Lui glanced at his wings and made a little backwards loop mid flight. “ _Considering I'm already in this form, I’d say that I’ll take air_.”

   “ _That's fine by me. Gives me more of an advantage._ ” Lui’s wings stuttered a little as he realized what I meant.

   “ _On the count of three. One… two… three, Go!”_ I finished abruptly. With that, I pelted off into the forest with Lui close over head.

   Despite being confined by the trees, whose roots crawled across the ground and whose branches hung down to block my path, I tore through our territory with speed and precision, barely breaking a sweat. It wasn’t until Lui decided to change into a peregrine falcon mid air that I became a little more pressed for speed. Slowly, he began pulling ahead of me at a fascinating pace.

   I smiled, the challenge of keeping up with him stretching and pulling my muscles in the most satisfying ways possible. Lui and I held these races every so often when we needed to relax. In fact, I liked to race a lot of the members but Lui was more of a challenge considering he was _almost_ as fast as me in switching between different animal forms and we were both very well versed in several species of animals from across the world.

   However, almost was the key word there. I smiled as I sank into the form of a cougar and continued on my way through the underbrush on agile feet. Lui stayed ahead of me for a while but his strength slowly began receding, his wings straining to pump himself forward.

   Encouraged, I pulled forward until I was directly underneath him and tilted my head back to look up at the sleek bird. He glared down at me for a moment before he stalled in the air and dropped a few feet as his body morphed into yet another bird. I grinned, watching his feathers molt into the form of a gyrfalcon.

   The new form helped him for a little bit but his stamina was still fading and the toll that shifting took on his body started setting in. With that observation, I chuckled to myself and pushed my body through another shift, my skin dissolving and replacing itself with the unique pelt of a cheetah. I could feel my chest expanding more and more and my legs extending until I reached the complete form. From there, it was over. I overtook Lui in mere seconds and darted through the forest.

   Unlike an actual cheetah, I made sure to modify the body structure and the chemical balances so that my stamina lasted much longer than theirs would by normal standards. Therefore, it didn’t take long for me to reach the house.

   Almost as soon as I made it to the ring of trees around our house, I felt a twang in the back of my head that yanked my body around and startled me so bad that I skidded to a halt and nearly smacked into a tree. Growling, I searched through my mind to find the source and came to the nine strings of thought that connected me to the other members of my pack.

   I flinched as two of the strings flashed brilliantly and then slowly increased in their vibrancy with a reddish hue. With dismay, I realized that the two strings belonged to Mini and Wildcat.

   My first instinct was to find them and figure out what was wrong. However, I didn’t know where they were. They could have been in one of their rooms or they could be out in the territory somewhere for all I knew. As they waged their argument, Wildcat’s red hue on his string began fading ever so slightly while Mini’s increased to the point where it reached an alarming fluorescent color.

   The leopard suddenly released a battle cry from his spot next to my Data Panel. The sound switched something in my brain. Desperately, I lifted my head to scent the air and prepared to race to wherever I assumed the couple would be when Mini’s light flashed lustrously then dimmed and faded as well.

   Breathless because of the sudden outburst from my members and my leopard, I tried to understand what just happened but to no avail. It was such a short event but the leopard’s fear smothered me as he stared at the threads.

   I could hear the wheels in his mind clanking together as he too tried to piece together what happened. A sense of dread emanated from the alpha’s thick fur as he raced through all the possibilities. Then, his eyes went wide and he seemed to shrink into a tiny speck of himself.

   One thought was clear to me as he sat there.

 _This can’t be happening_.

   Within the animal's shoulders, I sensed anfer and fear and I lost track of time as the leopard began thinking of getting into Mini and Wildcat’s heads. The pressure from his thoughts pressed harder against me and my logic as we stared at each other.

   Of course, I knew that if I wanted, I could get into direct contact with the couple. I could get into their thoughts and ask them what was happening, but that would be an invasion of their privacy. If I did it, I would see everything they thought, even if they didn't want me to.

   Never before had I ever had a reason to invade the minds of my pack members like that. I knew that I could do it just because I had accidentally done it to Moo when he first became part of my pack. It wasn’t until he noticed what I was doing and refused to talk to me for several weeks that I understood my mistake in entering his thoughts like I did. Since then, I refrained from entering the minds of my pack and, so far, Moo was the only one that knew I could do it.

   However, my leopard wanted nothing more than to launch himself into Mini’s thoughts and fix what was wrong at that moment.

   I shook my head. _No. That’s not who we are anymore._

   The leopard turned on me, his body once again expanding so that he stood tall over my head. _You expect me to stand by when I know that I could help them_?

   I glared up at the animal defiantly. _Yes. If it means that I retain their trust_.

 _Are you kidding me_? The leopard thundered. _I could slaughter their problems where they stand and the two of them would saved. Don’t you want that?_

 _Yes. But this is the wrong way and the wrong time to do it_. I snapped.

 _The next time we get a chance, it may be too late to stop it!_ The leopard shrieked.

   Fear at his words stopped me from responding for a moment. I felt my heart stall as the leopard voiced a concern that I hadn't been willing to admit to myself.

 _What are you talking about_? I muttered uneasily.

   The leopard hissed at me in such a vicious way that I was suddenly reminded of the killer from our early years together. Back then, I had little to no control over the leopard. The only thing I could keep him from was controlling my body itself.

   So, the animal would intimidate me and make my life a living hell until he got his way. Generally, he would use the same hissing sound he'd just given me to convince me into killing anything or anyone that stood in his way.

 _This is exactly why you are failing as the_ Lafaino! The animal’s mind seethed at the idea that I was being cowardly enough to leave the two in their current predicament.

 _Is it really that bad!? They could just be having another argument_! I countered, ignoring the spike of fear and shame in my chest as the leopard turned to face me fully.

 _You’re an idiot!_ The animal roared. _Do you not understand what those colors mean_?

 _No! I don’t! If you know so much about it, why don’t you tell me_? I questioned the animal, my temper rising. The alpha simply continued hissing at me.

 _What does it mean?_  I bellowed. The leopard didn’t answer. Instead, he whipped around and made a break for the threads.

 _You can’t do that!_  I snarled, just as a pair of footsteps through the undergrowth near me set off enough alarms in my head for the leopard to pause. Returning to reality, I quickly realized that I had spaced out so long that Mini and Wildcat were now almost to the house.

   Instantly, I dampened my scent with some molten leaves nearby and a chemical concoction that I spread through my skin for good measure. Sniffing myself to make sure my scent was hidden, I jumped up into a tree and lay still behind the leaves just in time to see Mini and Wildcat appear from the opposite side of the clearing.

   I was mildly surprised to see Tyler’s arm around Craig’s shoulders as they walked through the forest with an air of nonchalance. However, as they passed underneath me, I caught the ever so slight tinge of fear and anxiety coming from both demons in equal parts.

   Once they were out of sight, I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I’d been holding in.

 _You should have taken your chance. Mark my words._  The leopard growled.

   I glanced sideways to see him watching the screens intently with that calculating gaze of his. He then glared at me with so much rage that I was surprised I didn’t spontaneously combust.

 _I’ll figure it out before it gets to that point_. I muttered as I jumped down from the tree branch I was sitting on and shook some of the dirt from my pelt.

   Now it was set in stone; there was definitely something going on between the two. One of these days, I would pry it from the couple’s grasp even if it took my last ounce of strength to do so.

 _But I’ll do it_ without _invading their minds to get it._ I thought with a purposeful look at the leopard.

   Not entirely prepared to be with the pack yet, I decided to change into a bird similar to the small, brown and white flecked one that Lui had been wearing earlier and headed into the ring of trees around our house.

   Discreetly, I flew in through one of the living room windows and landed on the rafters above the couches and the fireplace. The sound of Nogla and Basically shouting at each other greeted me as I landed.

   I could see that most everybody besides Lui, Moo, and Brian were gathered on the sofas, watching Nogla yell at Marcel, who I assumed was in the kitchen judging from his voice. My tiny ears twitched when Wildcat scoffed lightly as him and Mini entered the room.

   “It’s good to know _that_ asshole is back.” He muttered to Mini as they stood in the doorway and watched Nogla.

   “I swear to Ladet, Nogla. If you ate my last goddamn brownie!” Marcel was shouting.

   “I’m fookin’ tellin’ ya! I didn’t eat any of yer goddamn brownies!” Nogla snapped.

   “Then, who the fuck did!?”

   Everybody in the living room looked at each other, each of them trying to spot any sort of tall tale signs as to who had eaten the lost brownie. I watched soberly as the events unfolded underneath me.

   Scotty was the first to notice Wildcat and Mini standing in the doorway. When he did, he beckoned them over with a grin. Panda was the next to notice.

   “Welcome back guys!” Jiggly greeted the couple as they walked over to sit near him. “You’re just in time to hear these two idiots argue about a brownie.”

   “Ooo! Fun.” Mini commented while Tyler shook his head.

   “Same shit different day I guess.” The tiger chuckled, making me squint in suspicion at the casual way he spoke.

   “It was Scotty wasn’t it? He hasn’t said anything this whole time!” Marcel growled, turning his attention to the panther sitting next to the newcomers.

   Scotty gave him a baffled look. “What? Why me?”

   “I know it was you Scot! Admit it!” Marcel continued. Scotty opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by an incessant chirping.

   Everyone looked around, trying to find the source, but found nothing. I smiled internally as I glanced sideways to see Lui fly in and perch on the rafter next to me in the form of the brown and white bird he'd been using earlier.

   “What the fuck is that sound?” Panda muttered.

   “I have no idea.” Scotty responded uneasily.

   “Whatever it is, it’s annoying.” Tyler huffed.

   Suddenly, the chirping stopped and was replaced by a distinctly familiar human voice.

   “ _Now that’s just rude Wildcat. I don’t go around saying those things about your singing._ ”

   “Jokes on you Lui. I don’t sing.” Tyler growled at no one in particular considering the pack couldn’t see the shapeshifter where we were.

   There was a flutter of wings as Lui flew down to land on the coffee table in front of the tall tiger. The tiny animal glared at Tyler and, with a voice that didn’t fit his current stature, he said, “ _Clearly, you don’t hear yourself in the shower_.”

   Tyler glared at the small bird.

   Nothing could have prepared me for the searing flash of terror that blew through my mind. I blacked out for a second as the agony of such an intense emotion made me crumble onto the rafter. Several moments were spent with my mind reeling as I fought the urge to throw up.

   When I came to, I quickly realized that the flash had been from Mini’s string of thoughts connecting him to my mind.

   I took in a stuttering breath of air and tried to close myself off from the beta’s thread as my mind spun from the effects of his panic. It took a second, but as Mini’s alarm decreased, it became easier to shelter myself from his conscience.

   Never before did I ever feel the need to get away from the bonds that I shared with all of my members. In fact, I liked to keep close tabs on each individual strand so that, if my members were ever in trouble, I could be warned and I could help them.

   However, this was the second time in less than an hour that Mini’s thoughts made me dizzy. On too of that, it was one of the many times in the past two months that Mini _and_ Wildcat’s thoughts had been singed with the aftermath of an argument.

   I focused on calming myself as I stood back up from the rafter. Glancing down to the living room below, I saw that Mini’s face showed absolutely no sign of his dread.

   As I continued observing though, I noticed that Tyler was watching his boyfriend discreetly out of the corner of his eye. Looking down further, I could see that Mini’s hand was being tightly gripped by his partner’s hand in comfort.

   The leopard in me snarled viciously. _He's not well human. It's just getting worse and you know it._

   I grimaced at his words. Of course, I knew they were getting worse. There was nothing I could do about it if the couple didn't talk to me though. I didn't want to pry into their business, but their mental and physical conditions were starting to worry me.

 _I'll figure something out_. I assured the alpha once again.

   He simply peeled his lips away from his fangs and glared at me before curling up next to his pole. I couldn’t help but frown at his brooding back as he laid down, facing away from me.

   I sighed and opened my wings to glide down into the living room, landing on the floor next to an oblivious Nogla, who was still yelling at Marcel. With snapping bones and the stretching of my skin, I stood as the feathers adorning my body melted away.

   Nogla let out a yelp of surprise and jumped away from me as I shifted next to him. As soon as I was back up on two feet, I reached up to sling an arm around the tall, winged creature, pulling him down to my level.

   “Aw come on man. Just admit you took the brownie and I'm sure Marcel will forgive you.” I suggested.

   “Fuck you! I ain't forgivin’ shit if he took it!” Marcel shouted, pointing a finger at Nogla.

   “Good! Cause I didn't do it!” Nogla retorted.

   “Who did who?” A new voice rang out from the other side of the room. I tilted my head to the side to see Brian walking into the living room, only wearing a pair of gray sweatpants.

   “Oh my lords!” Marcel groaned. “I give up! How many times do I gotta tell ya to keep a damn shirt on Brian!? It's not that hard!”

   Wildcat snickered somewhere behind us, the sound mixing in with Panda’s iconic giggling. The accused, bare-chested werecat simply shrugged and walked past Marcel to get to the fridge.

   “One of these days, you guys are going to give the poor guy a hernia.” Panda commented from his spot on the couch.

   “I think that already happened.” Scotty remarked.

  Everyone chuckled while my attention turned to Lui, who was in a corner of the room shifting back into his human form. Mini was also watching him closely, his face still holding no definable expression while his thread of thought glowed with anxiety in the back of my head.

   “Alright! Alright! Calm down ladies.” Lui called out as he stepped forward in his usual tan, 5 ft 7 inch form. He came to a stop between the two arguing demons, facing Marcel. “Now, let’s not start such accusations against each other. We’re all friends here.”

   “It was you, wasn’t it?” Nogla growled, glaring daggers at the shapeshifter’s back.

   Lui glanced over his shoulder to wink at Nogla before turning back to Marcel. “It was totally Nogla. I can practically smell the brownie on his breath.”

   “What a bitch!” Nogla exclaimed, his face betraying the truth as he stared at the shapeshifter in front of him.

   Marcel looked between the two demons, his lips pursed. Then, his expression shifted and he suddenly lunged at Nogla. Lui let out a yelp of surprise and sidestepped his way out of the crossfire, leaving Marcel to collide into Nogla.

   Nogla’s wings flared in surprise, early smacking me in the process, as Lui let loose an echoing laugh.

   "Ye fookin' traitor!" Nogla shouted at Lui as he shoved Marcel off of him and darted into the house with Marcel hot on his tail.

   “Get your ass back here Nogla!” Marcel yelled.

   “I didn’t do it I swear!” Nogla responded with a nervous, breathy laugh that suggested the exact opposite.

   Everyone sitting in the living room cheered the two on as they raced around the kitchen and down the halls. After several laps, Nogla reached out for Lui on his way through the living room. The two way race became a three way race as Nogla chased Lui and Marcel continued chasing Nogla through the house.

   I smiled as a few bets were thrown out as to who would stop first. It turned out to be Marcel who stopped first meaning that Wildcat and Panda lost out on their bet, to which they complained heavily. Nogla simply jogged in place after the other two stopped, proving he could have gone longer, even with his giant wings bouncing behind him.

   On the other hand, I could see that Lui had been pressed for stamina, his nostrils flaring.

   I walked over to him and socked him in the shoulder. “Color me impressed. Two races in a day and you’re just now getting tired.”

   The shapeshifter shrugged, feigning indifference. “I could go another round.”

   “You wish.” I responded, shoving him playfully.

   After that, everyone settled down again. By that time, it was starting to get late in the afternoon. Moo never came down from his room so we decided on a “fend-for-yourself” dinner that night. When asked, Brian explained that he had lured his boyfriend into a new TV series that morning, so the beta was still binge watching it in their room.

   Despite the increasingly festive atmosphere, I still felt a twinge in the back of my mind, my leopard rambling to himself in a daze. He was upset about something, I knew that much.

   It took me a while of switching between reality and my subconscious to realize that he was still irritated because we hadn’t made much progress in our research or with Mini, who was obviously decreasing in stability.

   No longer able to force a smile and feeling a little helpless, I wandered into the kitchen, away from the crowd. It didn’t really make sense for me to go there for no reason, so I got some milk out of the fridge and poured myself a glass.

   Gradually, the noise from the living room began dying down. I vaguely registered different members of the pack migrating to the gaming room or upstairs.

   At some point, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mini and Scotty walking through the kitchen behind me on their way upstairs.

   “Mini.” I called out to the beta just as he reached the stairs. He stopped and hesitated for a split second before turning to face me.

   “Yeah?”

   “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I inquired, keeping my expression neutral.

   He paused before nodding. “Sure... I meant to talk to you today anyway.”

   Scotty had paused to wait for Mini for a moment before Brian swept him up in a conversation and they both headed upstairs.

   Mini rummaged through the fridge to get a drink while we waited for the others to wander out of earshot. Clearing my throat, I rolled my shoulders and revisited the questions I had prepared for the leopard, who was sitting on the opposite side of the counter from me with his drink in hand.

   “You smell more stressed than usual. It’s not something I did, is it?” I asked nonchalantly.

   Mini’s expression tightened ever so slightly, the ghost of guilt tumbling across his face.

   “No. It has nothing to do with you. It’s just between me and Tyler.”

   “And Moo.” I added, bitterness making me a little careless with my tone.

   The taller leopard glanced up at me curiously before shrugging. “Well yeah. Betas have to stick together. We tell each other almost everything. It’s just instinct.”

   “I guess that’s true.” I sighed heavily in defeat and leaned back against the counter, recognizing that Mini was intentionally giving me vague answers. “My head hurts.” I grumbled.

   Mini lightly swung a foot back and forth, something hard, probably a button, making scuffing sounds across the metal endings of the bar stool he was sitting on. He sipped on his glass of water before looking up at me. “Do you need pain relievers?”

   I shook my head. “The only pain reliever I’ll get is some sleep.” I muttered.

   The leopard in me hissed. _Why do you lie? We don't need sleep. We need answers._

   I ignored the fuming animal in favor of gaining Mini’s trust. I knew the beta well enough to know that he wouldn't reveal anything to me right now, especially if the earlier events of the day had been as drastic as they felt. He was too stubborn for that. Putting my pride aside, I rolled my shoulders back and took a deep breath.

   “Ya know, I'm always here for you if you need anything.”

   Mini sighed. “I know. But enough about me. What happened with your meeting the other night?”

   I tensed at the abrupt switch in subjects and hoped that Mini didn’t catch me off guard enough for my face to portray any of my emotions from the night previous to yesterday.

   “It went as well as it usually does. We argued, I listened, and then she left.”

   The beta’s blue-grey eyes narrowed at me. “And? What’d she have to say this time?”

   I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

   Somewhere through the events of the day, I had obtained an uncanny urge to keep the pack out of the task that Zephyra had assigned me.

   To me, it made sense since they already had too many issues between themselves for me to involve them in something so large. However, I knew Mini wouldn't be happy about being left out. No one would be but, luckily, Mini was the only to know about my meeting.

   “She gave me a mission.” I commented after a moment.

   “No shit captain obvious.” Mini growled, something in my moment of hesitation setting him off.

   I glared at his scowling face in a half hearted attempt to admonish him for the tone. I didn’t really blame him though. What I had felt was only second hand smoke compared to what Mini had experienced.

   “Sorry. I just…” He trailed off, his jaw locked to one side.

   Shaking his head, Mini took in a deep breath and let it out, his glasses at the right angle to where I couldn't see his eyes through the reflection therein.

   “Please don't give me another half-assed answer like that. Both Moo and I are worried about whatever mission she gave you. That's all.”

   I nodded slowly, only mildly surprised that Moo suddenly knew about this as well. “I get that...”

   “But?” He inquired, turning to face me fully.

   I made a face, my ears pulling back to expand the features of my expression. “But, I don’t want you guys to be involved with the mission.”

   With that, I raised my mug to my lips and took a drink, watching my beta’s reaction intently.

   He studied me uncertainly for a moment, his eyes arrowing at my face. “What does that mean? Is it too dangerous or something?”

   I tilted my head as I considered the question. “Partially… yeah. It could be dangerous. However, there are too many issues here at home that need to be dealt with before I can trust any of you with an out-of-territory mission.”

   Guilt tinged the corners of Mini’s lips as he instinctively lowered his eyes. “How much do you know?” He asked with trepidation.

   The question surprised me to say the least, so it took me a moment to respond. I knew the implications of his question. Even hough I would have liked to say I knew a lot about what Mini was referencing, I didn't.

   “I know that something has been happening with you and Wildcat. Your arguments are getting more… extravagant. I can feel it through the bond." Mini quirked an eyebrow in confusion at that as I continued.

   "Other than that, I know nothing. Moo seems to know something about it, but he won’t tell me anything. It’s kinda disturbing if I’m being honest. My two betas are refusing to tell me what’s wrong with them.”

   Mini opened his mouth, preparing an apology that I sensed growing through the bond, but I stopped him with a raised hand.

  “However, I realize that whatever you’re hiding must be important enough to keep it secret. I’ve noticed it for the past few months actually, so don’t think I haven’t been paying attention. But I will wait until you deem it time to tell me what is happening.”

   Mini frowned, clearly dissatisfied with something I said. Somewhere along the line, his thread began heating up again. I wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong, but I didn’t have much time to contemplate it before Tyler came walking in with Nogla.

   “Aw come on man. Just one game.” Nogla whined, trailing in after the tiger. “Don’t be such a party pooper.”

   Tyler rolled his eyes. “I’ll be a party pooper all I want. Ain’t nobody gonna stop me from doing that.”

   As the two walked in, I saw the split second where Tyler and Mini made eye contact, some secret message passing between the two.

   Tyler quirked an eyebrow before looking at me with a strange expression. I felt my face involuntarily scrunch up at the challenge that I could see growing in his brilliant blue eyes. The leopard in me glowered at the tiger, his instincts rising to the challenge.

   “Woah. What did I just walk in on?” Nogla piped up from behind Wildcat.

   “What game are you guys playing Nogla?” I asked, letting my gaze linger on the other alpha in the room for a moment before turning my attention to the white-winged creature in question.

   Nogla glanced between the two of us before shrugging. “We’re not sure yet. Brian wanted to play before we went to bed though. He said that Brock still has his head in t’e series t’at he’s watching so I might as well hang out wit’ ‘im.”

   I nodded. “Alright. Do you mind if I join?”

   Nogla shuffled his wings nervously, glancing over at Tyler, who was now keenly observing his boyfriend. “Yeah. T’at’d be awesome actually.”

   “Sweet. Are you two going to bed?” I asked, turning back to the couple standing on the other side of the counter.

   Mini blinked before turning to meet my gaze. “Yeah. I think so.”

   “Alright. Goodnight you two.”

   Every instinct I had told me to get out of that room as soon as possible. So, that's exactly what I did.

  Without a moment to lose, I led the way up to the sitting room at the top of the stairs with Nogla just behind me. Tension dissipated from my shoulders the further I got from Tyler's angry gaze and ai found myself sighing as I relaxed a little more.

   As soon as I got to the top of the stairs, I spotted Brian sitting in the most awkward looking position, in a bean bag chair, looking up at his phone.

   “Ya comfortable over t’ere Brian?” Nogla asked, amusement evident in his voice.

   The werecat took his phone away from his face and craned his head up to see us. “Actually, yeah. It’s pretty nice.” Nogla and I simply chuckled as we sat down.

   I played with the two members for a while before my eyes started drooping. Glancing outside, I realized that the moon was already climbing into the sky. So, saying good night to the two, I headed to my room.

   My room still held the slight underlying smell of vanilla from a few nights ago when I entered, but the smell of stress and anxiety was slowly starting to overlap the vanilla. This was discouraging considering that vanilla was my favorite smell.

   Sighing, I flopped down on my bed, fully intending to fall asleep. However, as I fell back, I choked on my own spit and sat up spluttering.

   After a few coughs, the congestion was cleared, but my throat ached for a drink of water. I reached over to my nightstand for a bottle that was sitting there only to find that it was empty.

   Groaning, I left my room again and headed downstairs. The sound of Mini whispering in an urgent voice stopped me just before I reached the last step.

   Fixing my hearing to pick up the little details drifting down the hall from the gaming room, I listened in on what he was saying.

   “Lui, I’m not messing around. Did you or did you not hear me and John talking this morning?”

   It clicked somewhere in the back of my mind that Mini and Wildcat had been with Kryoz and Smii7y earlier today. Maybe the two rogues knew something about what was wrong with them.

   A sense of hope flared in my chest as I made a mental note to check in with the assassins to see if they knew something. However, that hope faded a little when I remembered that, if Mini wasn’t willing to tell me anything, it probably meant that he'd sworn everybody else to secrecy. Ladet knows that Smii7y and Kryoz would definitely keep the secret with their lives.

   “I’m not messing around either Craig. I told you; I only heard bits and pieces of what happened.” Lui responded, his voice carrying a bit more considering he wasn’t whispering.

   “What pieces did you hear?” Mini asked anxiously.

   I could almost imagine the look of exasperation on Lui’s face as he replied with, “Not much. Like I said, I’m working on tuning into feline speech with my bird form. So far as I understood it, you and Wildcat got into a fight, so he went to stay the night with Kryoz and Smii7y. That’s it. That’s all I know. Why is this so important? Is there something that I _should_ know?”

   There was a pause in the conversation where I could feel Mini’s uneasiness pick up again.

   “No. There’s nothing else.” The beta responded.

   Despite the fact that there was no emotion in his voice, I knew that Lui was much more advanced than me when it came to reading people. So, it shouldn’t have surprised me when he sighed in exasperation. I heard the gentle thwap of what I assumed to be a comforting hand patting solid flesh.

   “Craig. Look at me… I know there’s something going on between you and Tyler and I know that, whatever it is, it’s not getting better. Evan has talked to me about it before and the others may not say anything, but I know that they can sense it too.

   "Both of us know that Evan’s number one priority is to make sure we’re all safe, mentally and physically. We’re all concerned about you guys, but I don’t think anybody realizes how bad it is.” The leopard in me hissed in triumph as the weight of Lui’s words slowly crushed my words from earlier about their argument being simple earlier that day.

   “I do though. I can see it in your eyes and it permeates my link with you almost every day. It’s been like that for a little while now. There’s something hanging over your head. It shows all over Tyler’s face too whenever he looks at you and when he thinks he’s alone.

   "I don’t know what's wrong exactly and I’m not going to pretend that I even have an accurate guess as to what this secret is  between you two, but it’s hurting both of you. I know that Evan says it a lot, but I want you to know that we’re all here for you. I also know that you've kept this secret for a reason though. So, even if I _did_ know something about your guys’ secret, I would never tell anyone until you deemed it necessary.

   “That said, this is not me trying to convince you to tell me everything right now. However, I am telling you that I will be your ally when you need me and you can be assured that I don’t care what your issue is… Hey. Don’t look at me like that. I mean it, alright? Do you want me to raise my hand and promise on a history book? Cause I will.”

   A slight huff of nervous laughter escaped Mini and I realized that he was on the verge of tears. “I know you would. But I can’t risk telling you right now.”

   “And that is perfectly alright. I didn’t expect you to. You’re smart Mini. You’ve survived a lot and you are nothing if not a selfless and caring person. But one of these days, those attributes, no matter how good they are, won’t be able to protect you. At that time, know that I will be there to support you no matter what happens. That’s all I expect from you right now; to know that I will help without question.”

   Silence drew out between the two as I listened and it suddenly occurred to me that this was supposed to be a private moment that I was eavesdropping on. The thought disturbed me so much that I sat back on the stairs, feeling distanced from my pack. I stayed down for a while before getting up and going back upstairs to my room without my drink of water.

   As I walked into my room, I felt successful for the second time that day because Mini seemed to be feeling a little better after Lui’s speech. However, just like before, the feeling was tempered by the stinging sensation of inadequacy because I knew that I couldn’t have done it alone.

   So, I crawled into my bed, feeling conflicted and confused in so many ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope you guys liked this week’s chapter. Now, for some notes:  
> For Shapeshifters: Somewhere in one of the other chapter’s notes, I mentioned that each species of demons sort of has their own dialects. Shapeshifters are no exception. The only thing different about the shapehsifter dialect is that it uses a confusing mix of almost every language in the world. Therefore, it’s almost impossible to understand them when they speak to each other if you don't know the dialect.  
> The reason the dialect is so confusing however, is because shapeshifters have to be able to understand each other no matter what form they’re in. So, they created a language that can be translated into any speech pattern for any animal instead of learning thousands of foreign languages. Every species speaks in different wavelengths that can't always be understood by someone outside of that group, which is why Lui said towards the end there that he had to try and “tune in” to feline speech.
> 
> Another thing about shapeshifters: They can turn into virtually anything. Now, the problem is the word “virtually”. In reality, they can transform into any living being but, in order to be that efficient in replicating a specific form, shapeshifters have to study whatever demon/human/animal they're trying to replicate for a long time in order to understand the body structure and how things function when they’re put altogether. Normally, this process starts almost as soon as shifters are born by studying their parents. 
> 
> On this note, a shapeshifter’s body is also malleable to a point, which means that they are able to manipulate it in anyway that they need. However, there is an exception to this. No matter what, shapeshifters can’t change their age. In other words, an adult can’t shift into a baby version of any species and vice versa. Technically, when a shapeshifter shifts, they retain the same organs while only shifting the outer appearance. Changing ages changes organs, which can lead to some really bad internal bleeding from organs rupturing and chemical imbalances that can kill a person. Therefore, it's basically suicide to try and get a body to transform into a different age group. It’s literally impossible and anyone who has tried has killed themselves doing it. Yet, somehow, Evan did it to a certain extent and survived to tell the tale which makes him increasingly unique.
> 
> Side note: The pole where the leopard was chained in the second chapter is the same pole where the leopard and Evan sit after they get to the rock this chapter. I would like to mention that the leopard is not always chained up. It’s only when he acts up that he’ll be chained there but, like a dog who stays on a leash by their owner’s side for the first year of their life, he always returns to the pole because it is something that is familiar and something he has been taught by Evan for years.
> 
> I may have mentioned this in passing before, but, on the Original Planet, there were five canine groups: Wolves, Dogs, Foxes, Jackals, and Coyotes. Each species came from a series of experimentations by the hands of the Demon-Wolves. Werecats came after them, meaning that their DNA was a concoction of canine genes mixed with a bunch of other variables. That’s why, when I draw them, they look like a mix between canines and felines and it explains why Evan describes Moo as being half wolf- half feline when he first meets him.
> 
> On the topic of Savannah: Savannah is one of my real life friends who has been translated into my books. She will be very important for the future development but, like Zephyra, I will try to limit concentration on her character since she is an OC.
> 
> This chapter might seem a little melancholy towards the end and that’s because I’ve written it in the past few days. Now, I live in Montana and, if anyone knows this state, they know that it either rains or snows eight months out of the fricken year. Montana is the place where it has literally snowed in July at one point. (Warning: the next few sentences are kinda sad) Also, one of my clients passed away in her sleep the other day. She was a smart and fantastic woman and she had faith in my writing and my stories. So, in her memory, I dedicate this chapter of this story to her.  
> RIP LJ
> 
> Thanks for reading <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this time, I wrote a chapter that is mostly TerrorSnuckle but still includes plot~
> 
> There is a concept that I will explain before the chapter starts and it is the fact that, technically, demons can choose whether or not they keep scars. If they want, they can keep the marks of their battles with them, but they can also choose to have every blemish covered and healed. The way this works is by simple molecular regeneration, which is basically where someone can restitch or “regrow” all the cells that they lose when they get cut or something. They can literally just recreate flesh and sometimes muscles, depending on their skills, and that is how demons are generally healed. Scar tissue is one of the things that can be omitted during this process which, of course, means that the person doesn’t have to deal with scars. Some people simply choose to keep these marks or they end up parting from their healer and the healing process stops half way through. There are some exceptions, which I’ll add at the end of the chapter, but, for now, this is all you need to know.
> 
> This is the first time that I also include a time skip so this chapter takes place two weeks after last chapter.
> 
> Also, somewhere in the chapter I mention something called “Bavsha”. This is the main term used for the periods of time where subgenders go into heats and ruts.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Moo’s Perspective:**

_Two weeks later_

   The first thing I noticed when I woke up was a faint rumbling emanating from my chest. With a deep breath, I stretched briefly and sighed, noting the feeling of something heavy around my waist. I didn’t even need to look down to see that it was Brian’s arm, his scent intoxicating as it wreathed all around me.

   I smiled lightly as I felt a purring sensation, similar to my own, against my back. Cold air nipped at my face as I slowly came to but, to me, it mattered not. The rest of my body was enveloped in warmth and that was all that I cared about. The faint sounds of Brian’s breathing made my chest expand with adoration.

   Waking up like this, I was reminded of the first time that Brian and I had slept in the same bed. It had been a quiet, peaceful night without any monkey business to push the boundaries. By that time, Brian and I had been dating for about a month.

   Everything about Brian had entranced me from the moment I first met him in Eufanha five years ago. It was a simple meeting, drawn together by a few random circumstances and a helpful friend.

   Evan and I had been traveling for about a year before we started meeting people to add to the pack. I hummed happily, reminiscing about the first time I had met Brian and Nogla. Never before had I ever seen a demon like Nogla- if he even was a demon- and, after I escaped the lab, Evan found out about how I ended up there. He subsequently refused to let me anywhere near any other werecats. Therefore, Brian was the first of my kind that I had seen in three years.

   I remember Evan being hesitant about letting the two newest demons join us at first. They both held their dangers with Nogla being an unknown and unique in an alien-like sense and Brian being a werecat. Ever since Evan rescued me, he had been extremely protective over me. Nowadays, that protectiveness translated to the rest of the pack but he was less strict with them then he had been with me.

   Perhaps it was because of the circumstances he found me in or the fact that I was the first pack member that he ever claimed, but Evan kept a close eye on the goings-ons between Brian and I those first few years. He didn’t trust any other werecats around me and for good reason.

   To a certain extent, I think Brian was daunted for at least the first year by Evan’s attitude towards me- even though he never admitted it. On top of that, it took us a while of subtle flirting and a few tense situations before we finally told each other how we felt.

   It was a shame that it had taken us so long to admit our feelings for each other. Afterall, it only took Craig and Tyler a year of knowing each other for them to get together. Brian and I, on the other hand, didn't start dating until about a year ago. Since then, we had grown even closer, much to the exasperation of the other pack members.

   I hummed softly when I heard Brian begin to rise from his slumber. As he did so, his arm tightened around me and his nose tickled the back of my neck. The feeling sent thrills down my spine, all the way to my toes.

   I could sense the moment that Brian was fully awake. It wasn’t hard to imagine him opening his bleary blue eyes and looking around in a daze. He sighed softly as he came to.

   I smiled as his hands began gently gliding across my side, the motion familiar but not really intentional. If there was one thing that I learned while dating Brian, it was that he tried his best to remain in constant contact with me. I once asked him about it, during a morning similar to this one, and he had explained that it was a habit, a nervous tick developed at a young age.

   When Brian was younger, he told me that he had always taken care of some kids in his tribe. One night, when he was fast asleep in a room separate from the children, the kids were stolen away by a group of bandits. Brian had hunted them down and retrieved the kid.

   Since then, when he was sleeping, he kept at least one finger near the people he felt he needed to protect to make sure they were always there. Sometimes the need translated over into his waking hours, making him very “touchy-feely” whenever we were around each other.

   However, he wasn't like this to just me. In fact, when I asked Nogla if he knew about it, he had told me that Brian clung to him a lot as well when they were traveling together. It made sense to me and I didn't mind the extra affection so I never brought it up to Brian after he explained it.

   It was a while before Brian interrupted the serene silence that surrounded us.

   “Why do you keep them?” He asked softly. I glanced down to where his hand rested across one of the many scars on my stomach.

   “I’m pretty sure I already told you.” I responded, slowly surfacing from the calm of the morning.

   It was only after I got to know Brian better and trusted him more as my boyfriend that he discovered how many scars I had kept from my time in the human lab. The blemishes littered my torso and my thighs but, through the years, they were beginning to fade.

   Brian nodded at my remark. “Yeah. I want to hear your reasoning again though.”

   I sighed lightly, one of my hands ghosting across the scars across my chest. A sense of bitter nostalgia overcame me as I remembered my experience in the human experimentalist lab.

   “I keep them because these are the scars that I received after I met Evan; the ones that I gained while kindling the hope and determination that I would get out of that place alive.”

   I could feel Brian frown as he gently kissed my shoulder. The rumbling in his chest grew deeper to almost a growl, his fingers gently massaging the scar tissue on my hip.

   “Sometimes, I wish I had known you sooner. Maybe…” He trailed off.

   I turned in his arms to face him with a raised eyebrow. His hand paused only to rest delicately on my stomach once more.

   “Maybe I could have saved you from them.” He finished, the azure color of his eyes flashing with sadness.

   For a second, I got confused as to which people he was talking about when saying “them”. Perhaps it showed on my face because Brian grimaced and released a low growl.

   “I would have saved you from all of them if only I could. I would make both sides pay.”

   I hummed considerably at his words, memories of how I ended up in the lab in the first place slowly coming back to me.

   Sure, it's a well known fact that people with subgenders are discriminated against no matter where they go. The humans hate demons in general and the demons tend to distance themselves from anything that they deem harmful. It only made sense that most demons would deem subs dangerous considering the fact that, generally, if we don't have a mate by the age of thirty, we go feral. The only solution for a feral demon is to kill them and burn the corpse.

   Since I was a kid, I had always been told that I had a strange flaw in my scent. It was sweeter, more prominent than anyone else’s and everyone could tell what I felt by what aroma I gave off. Back then, I didn’t know it but these were obvious signs that I was a subgender.

   I was made fun of for these discrepancies in my scent when I was younger but, eventually, the bullying died out as I grew older, taller, and stronger. I remember taking pride in escaping from the tribe’s constant bigotry. It felt as if I had taken ten steps forward.

   Those steps to freedom were eradicated when I turned 18 and suffered my first round of  _Bavsha._  My parents tried to hide me away, not for my protection, but because they were already shunned enough by the tribe for giving birth to me.

   That first time was miserable. The first one is always the worst just because the body doesn't know how to react. I went through several rounds those first few months after that before it became a steady cycle, measuring out at every five months. Perhaps my body was simply taking revenge on itself for missing two years of heats.

   At the age of 20, my parents became unreasonably infuriated  with my “over exposure of sexual intent”. They took me to a therapist of sorts to figure out how to “fix” my problem.

   The lady I saw never tried to change me in any way- it wasn’t like there was anything she could’ve done in the first place. If anything, the title of being a “conversion therapist” was simply a cover for her to be able to study subgenders. To her, I was grateful because, while she was interested in studying me, she respected my need for privacy.

   I'm not sure how it happened, maybe my therapist accidentally leaked my information or the tribe went behind my back, but, somehow, my identity and information about what I was got released to the public. Things got out of hand from there.

   It started with a few interviews, nosy reporters, humans and demons alike, that had what I liked to consider a sick fascination with how my body worked. Most of all though, they wanted to know what my thoughts were when it came to the difference between a “normal” demon and a subgender. In less PG terms, this meant that they wanted to know all the details about “the sex”.

   Eventually, more people started getting interested. Once I realized that they were getting worse and more disrespectful towards me as a person, I tried to refuse to see anyone.

   However, around the time I turned 21, my tribe found out that they could make big money by exploiting my “disorder”. They would sell me out to the highest bidder, to the people that were studying subgenders for experiments to help them in their quest in “saving the world”. Imagine that. Everybody scrambling for information and, suddenly, a new person shows up who is “voluntarily” offering themselves to be studied.

   Except, I never went willingly. I went only to appease my family at first, but it soon became apparent to me that they were only making me do it for the money and an esteemed spot in the tribe.

   The day that I dug in my heels was the day that some “reporters” tried to take my blood for some testing without my permission. I stormed out of there and argued all night with my parents about how immoral it was to sell me out. The next day, I spent all day fighting my tribe leaders on the legalities of the situation.

   I can't remember the name of the drug or when they started using it on me, but it seemed to be the only way that my tribe could get me to comply with their wishes. As far as I could tell, whatever concoction they made put the demon in me into a coma-like state and barred me from transforming or using any fighting skills that I had learned over the years. Mixed in with the drug was also another drug that made me dazed out of my mind.

   Lucky for them, they used the drugs. If the hadn't, I would’ve torn every single one of their throats out and ran.

   Later on, I learned that I spent 2 years under the spell pressed into me by the drugs, but I remember next to nothing of it. My days were spent void of thought without knowing where I was or what happened around me.

   It was terrifying really. To realize that, somehow, a large chunk of my life was missing.

   Renewed resentment boiled up in my chest as I remembered being conscious for the first time in years and not recognizing who I was. Sure, I still had the same face for the most part, but I felt sick to my stomach every time I thought about all the years I had missed of people's lives, including my own.

   To me, only a second had gone by from my last memory at age 21 to my first memory in the lab at the age of 23. Between that, there was nothing but darkness and yet what disturbed me the most was that the world had continued moving while I sat in limbo for two years straight.

  Mostly, I thought of how there were so many kids in my tribe the last time I remembered them. If I had seen them before I went to the lab, all grown up and now much more knowledgeable than what had seemed like a second ago, I would've gone insane. Luckily, I don't remember that happening. In fact, I still don't recall my last moments in my tribe.

   I don’t remember when my tribe signed the papers to hand me over to the human experimentalist lab. Only a few vague memories of my first month there remained with me.

   The first time I recognized where I was, I remember being extremely confused as to who I was and where I'd ended up. Some of the older demons who had been in the lab longer than me helped me trace back my steps to when I had come in. They told me a few things that they knew about who had brought me there. Several of them saw members of my tribe just before I appeared.

   It took a while for that fact to sink in for me and it took another year and tons of speculation to figure out what had happened to me in the two years before that.

   Between the three years I spent either under the influence of the malign malady of unjustifiable amnesia or in the lab, the demon side of me slept almost indefinitely.

   Since then, the werecat in my head was never the same. Somewhere along the way, after being forcibly sedated for so long and being tortured nonstop right after that, the demon side of me lost his voice. Generally, counterparts rarely use words to express their thoughts simply because they are still animals and can talk through sensations and/or mental images. However, there are special situations where they can speak if they want.

   There were plenty of reasons for my werecat to talk in the past ten years since the time the whole ordeal started. Not once had I heard his voice though.

   Knowing that he was now mute because of me shattered me on a core level. Despite the way I was raised, despite the hatred thrown at me for having him, despite fighting day in and day out to maintain my sanity apart from the demon inside, despite all of that, I held an ineffable amount of adoration and compassion towards my subcounter. He had given me so much grief and he was literally the source of my problems as a kid, but I still loved him with all of my heart.

   To know that I had broken him, in spite of it being unintentional, made me feel such an incomparable sorrow for the voice of something that was so necessary to my existence and character.

   Nowadays, the werecat mostly spent his time sleeping in the back of my mind. He woke up only occasionally, during times when I was in danger or during _Bavsha._ Every time he opened his eyes, he looked at me as if I'd skimped all the meat out of his sandwich. Yet, I didn’t mind his dirty looks if only it meant that I got to know a semblance of what he was thinking.

   Perhaps that's why I didn't have the same problem as Mini and Wildcat despite being past the 30 year deadline. There were two theories that I had when it came to Mini’s issue of getting stuck in relation to myself. Either my werecat lay so dormant that it no longer cared, or it could have something to do with the fact that Brian wasn’t a subgender. Therefore, I wasn't entitled to claim him right away.

   I knew the werecat approved of him. Even through his silence, I could feel his appreciation every time Brian was around when the demon was awake. Despite that, the animal never pushed me to claim Brian. For that, I was eternally grateful.

   “Babe?” Brian’s voice woke me from my slight daze.

   I sighed and looked up to see a familiar pair of blue eyes trained on me, watching my expression carefully. Humming lightly, I shifted to face him fully, slowly rewinding back to what he had asked earlier.

   “I spent nine months in that hell hole.” I began, carefully picking around the worst of my memories from those years spent in imprisoned. “I waited every day for somebody to help me, but nobody came. The ones that did appear escaped with one or two demons or were obliterated by traps that they were too young and dumb to see.”

   I grimaced as the images of many lifeless corpses flashed before my eyes.

   “When Evan came, I tried warning him of the dangers in freeing me. Luckily, he understood to a degree. Despite my warnings though, Evan unlocked the cage. I can't even begin to describe the horror I felt. I fully expected him to die in front of me and melt into a puddle of stinking flesh and bones like all the others.”

   Brian gazed at me soberly before tilting his head down and placing his forehead against my collar bone as I continued.

   “He took the risk. And in doing so, he saved me from my despair. He proved to me that it only took one bold action to change the course of fate. I wouldn’t have been nearly as confident that he could get me out if he hadn’t done that. Before Evan came, I had completely given up hope. I couldn’t even remember my name for Ladet’s sakes.” I took a deep breath to steady my shaking voice.

   Not remembering two years of my life had been terrifying, but not remembering my name was something that had happened so gradually and yet had horrified me above all else.

   “How was I supposed to remember the concept of hope?” I persisted, remembering the wretched gray walls of my cage. Then, my memories hitched.

   Suddenly, I was looking through the bars of my enclosure at a young boy whom I had seen many times before but whose identity appeared so foreign to my eyes.

   “Evan came and everything got turned around. After meeting him, I knew there was hope of escaping and, if no one else did it, I fully intended to do it myself. I had most everything planned out. I was gonna take advantage of some sort of chaos and hobble out of there to somewhere in the building where I could hide. Then, I would lay low until I could escape.”

   I felt Brian smile against my skin, his lips pursing together for a moment. “Lucky for them, Evan and t’at other person found you. They would’ve had to deal with your scary ass if not.” Brian smiled up at me with a playful expression. “That would definitely scare the crap outta me.”

   I huffed lightly at him, my lips curling up at his words.

   That night had been one of the most glorious moments of my life. Evan told me after he met the demon lieutenant, Savannah, that she was close to a solution to getting  _everyone_  out of the lab. They kept their promise to release all of us and, a week later, I watched as several workers turned on their colleagues and employees, all of which were fought down and apprehended within an hour or so.

   I remember someone coming over the emergency intercom and announcing to everyone in the building that the prisoners were now free. The uproar at that proclamation was deafening, added to by my own yowls of triumph. I later learned that the voice that made the announcement belonged to Savannah, Zephyra’s ten year old lieutenant.

   Evan came to me first, after all of the execrable humans were removed, to make sure that I was safe. There were some other humans and demons that came in and began carefully unlocking many of the cages that contained the victims of the humans’ malice.

   Savannah found Evan and I during extraction. It was the second time that I met the young demon child, but it was the first time that I had seen her in full view.

   The first night that I talked to her, Savannah had been nothing but a silhouette against the moonlight, her brown eyes glittering eerily from behind the bars. She'd asked me about Evan that night. Apparently someone had tipped her off that I'd been talking to the young alpha earlier that week.

   I originally thought she was one of the bad guys, wanting information about my only chance at freedom. It wasn’t until she told me her name and began summarizing her plans to free us that I felt more inclined to tell her about Evan. Of course, I agave her vague enough information that I wasn't sure if she'd actually find him. Even then, I knew from the start that Evan could handle himself. He was a bit reckless, but that didn't mean he wasn't strong.

   I never trusted Savannah fully, even if she did help me. In fact, even to present day the young child always set my hair on end. Still, she did help me escape, and that was something I was willing to commend her for.

   “You must have been so happy.” Brian remarked.

   I smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “I was ecstatic… but I never would have survived my own mind, let alone the lab, if it hadn't been for Evan. That's why I keep these.”

   Slowly,I ran a hand over the first scar Brian had pointed out before wrapping my arm around the werecat to draw him closer to me.

   “I'm glad he saved you.” Brian murmured, kissing my collarbone gently. “I would have been so lost if I hadn't found you.”

   I huffed out a happy chuckle, tender adoration swelling up from the depths of my chest.

   “I’m serious.” Brian laughed, looking up at me with a doting sort of fondness. “You are lit’rally the greatest thing that has happened to me. I don’t care if it’s cheesy. If you weren’t here, I dunno where I would be without you and I never wanna find out.”

   I smiled shyly as Brian reached down to grab my hand and brought it up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to each one of my fingers. Warmth spread through my face as Brian looked up at me again and sighed contentedly. The cerulean blue of the werecat’s eyes entranced me as we lied there, gazing at each other.

   “You’d be lost regardless.” I mumbled after a moment. Brian rose an eyebrow in a classic display of confusion, eliciting a chuckle from me.

   “You’d be lost whether or not you found me. You’re terrible with directions.” I told him, knowing that it would tick him off.

   For a moment, Brian looked as if I had just insulted all of his ancestors at once.

   “Hell no!” He exclaimed. “That was Craig! Don’t even try blaming that shit on me. T’at was all his fault ‘cause he can’t read the goddamn sign that literally says ‘EXIT’. It’s not my fault we were two hours late! Blame that guy! _I_ knew where I was going.”

   I snickered as Brian ranted, a devious smile growing on my face.

   “Wipe that smug grin off your goddamn face! You aren’t that clever!”

   “Ah, you’re so cute when you’re angry." I murmured, hugging the fuming werecat closer. "I guess that’s why I love you though.”

   Blush dusted Brian’s cheeks as he stalled in his speech, his words stumbling to a halt as he registered what I had just said. Heat dusted my cheeks as I too realized what I'd said. I gave him a timid smile, my eyes wandering away from the intensity of his gaze.

   “I- you- puhuhh…” The werecat chuckled nervously. “Wow. You really know how to get a guy to shut up don’t ya.”

   I shrugged lightly. “So far, I would agree. Probably helps my case that you get embarrassed easily.”

   “Well yeah. When ya don’t hear it that often, it tends to catch ya off guard when someone says something like that.” Brian responded sheepishly.

   I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. “It just kinda slipped out.”

   Brian nodded, his expression patient and caring.

   “I meant it though.” I reassured the werecat hurriedly, afraid that I had offended him somehow.

   My cheeks heated up as Brian reached up to run his fingers across my face.

   “I know you did. I love you too…” A sense of unexplainable compassion swelled in my chest at his words, my heart threatening to jump out of my chest. Brian simply smiled at me and wrapped an arm around my waist. A grin graced my lips as the werecat in my arms leaned up to place his nose right up against my neck.

   I was never sure of time during these moments. An hour could've gone by or an entire year could've come to pass and I would have been none the wiser wrapped up in Brian’s embrace. However, the call of nature steadily began building pressure against my hips. Eventually, I sighed and tapped Brian’s hand to get his attention. He grunted softly at me in question.

   “I gotta go to the bathroom.” I told him lightly.

   The ruffled mop of hair in front of me lifted slightly so I could see a pair of blue eyes before Brian groaned and released me. I smiled and sat up as he turned over to face away from me, still curled up in the blankets.

   I huffed in displeasure as I crawled over the sleepy werecat, away from the warmth of the blankets and into the crisp cold of the morning.

   “I'm gonna tear Nogla’s ears off if he turned off the heater again.” I muttered, shivering while I tried to find a robe to wear to the bathroom.

   “He’d probably just grow them back.” Brian remarked, his voice muffled by the pillow that he was now face first in.

   “The satisfaction would be enough for me.” I grumbled, flicking the strings around my waist dramatically as I headed out of the room with my red robe on.

   I went down to the bathroom and relieved myself before retracing my steps back out into the hall. On my way back to my room, I glanced over at Evan’s room to see that the door was open. Curious, I walked over to it and peered in only to find it empty. Evan’s scent remained stale against my nostrils.

 _Maybe he's out on another run_. I tried to reassure myself. Still...

   One blue eye cracked open to look at me as I entered my bedroom and absentmindedly wandered to one of my dressers.

   “What’s wrong?” Brian asked, sitting up in bed.

   I shook my head, my hand hovering over one of the dresser drawers. “I’m not sure. Evan’s not in his room.”

   My back was turned to him, but I could feel Brian’s eyes open with newfound vexation.

   “Let me guess. Ya have ta go find him.” Brian stated bluntly.

   I sighed and turned to face the exasperated demon on my bed. “You of all people know that I have to keep an eye on him.”

   Brian frowned and cast his eyes away from me.

   “I know it irritates you but-” I tried to continue but cut off as Brian’s voice obscured mine.

   “It's not that I'm irritated.” He growled, his presence looming within the confines of my room. “I'm worried because every single person in this pack seems to be having issues and the stress  _always_  comes down to you and Mini. It's not fair on eit'er of you and you guys shouldn’t be expected to jump when the ot'ers say jump. Don’t get me wrong, I love everyone, but these past two weeks have been worse than usual and I don't know why, but I swear if it gets to the point where you or Craig go into a haze, there will be hell to pay.” Brian ground out the last sentence around fanged teeth.

   I watched him with a cautious gaze, solemnly aware of the truth in his words. After a moment, the werecat took a deep breath and sighed, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed to look up at me with narrowed eyes.

   “That's just my opinion and you're free to do what ya want, but know that I don't agree with it.”

   I nodded, a tuft of compassion for my boyfriend’s concern lodging itself in my ribs. Meanwhile, I grabbed a pair of sweatpants out of my drawer and meandered over to my closet for a shirt.

   “I know.” I started slowly. “It's instinct to take care of everyone though, so part of the stress is self-inflicted I suppose. Everybody needs someone to lift them when they're not strong. That’s a beta’s job. You said it yourself; everybody's having issues at the moment. It's only natural that me and Mini have been working harder than usual.”

   “And what happens when you both overwork yourselves? If you guys go into a haze? What will you do then?” Brian muttered.

   My lips twisted sideways as I considered Brian’s words. True, there was the possibility of Mini and I exhausting ourselves to the point of a haze, Mini more likely than me. I didn't want to even consider that possibility though.

   “What do you suggest I do Brian?” I asked forlornly as I turned to face the werecat. He sat in the same spot on my bed, a scowl on his face. “I can't leave them to their demons… literally.”

   Brian glanced up at me with uncertainty before sighing. “I don’t know.”

   “Exactly, because you haven't been in my position.” I responded with a benevolent smile.

   Brian was an understanding person with nothing but compassion in his heart. The only problem was that, because he wasn't a sub, it was hard for him to understand what it was like to have such strong, uncontrollable instincts towards certain things, like maintaining the health of the pack.

   I wasn't blind. Somewhere in my mind, I always knew that Mini and Wildcat’s relationship would have so many more complications besides what they foresaw. I knew it would mess with pack dynamics to add Marcel and Wildcat into the fray as alphas under Evan’s authority. Ever since we settled down in this territory three years ago, I knew that Marcel, Scotty, and Panda had been keeping a secret as well. Even Nogla had his own secrets that were extremely blatant if one were to listen to his speech and to look through history to find that absolutely no other species, demon, human, or ancient, looked like him. Brian knew something about Nogla’s history, yet he'd never told me. And, on top of all of that, I knew that Lui and Evan were searching, sometimes illegally, for Evan’s lost history.

   “Everybody has a secret in this pack Brian. Even you.” Brian shrunk a little at my remark as I sighed heavily and stripped my clothes off to put on fresh ones. “If only you knew what it was like to know about so many things wrong with the people you're supposed to protect and to never have the chance to help them. It's my most basic instinct to help them and I can't do anything about it.”

   Fully dressed, I walked over to Brian and sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

   “I know. It's not fair to hold so much weight on my shoulders. It's also not fair for Mini to be dealing with so much stress on top of his responsibilities to the pack. I understand your misgivings and I appreciate your concern. Right now though, I have a job to do.”

   Brian nodded before leaning his head against my shoulder. “Sometimes, I just wish you didn't have to worry so much.”

   I smiled softly and briefly laid my head on his. “As do I.”

   We sat for a moment like that before Brian shifted away.

   “Well, you better find out what happened before I tie you to the bedpost and force you to watch the rest of that movie we started last night.” Brian threatened.

   I wiggled my eyebrows at the werecat and smiled. “Ooh kinky.”

   Brian rolled his eyes and pushed away from me, laying back down on the bed with an exasperated chuckle. “Go away ya dick.”

   I hummed in amusement and got up only to lean over Brian and, much to his surprise, place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

   “I'll find Evan and then I’ll be back.” I assured the werecat on my bed. Brian simply grunted in response.

   With that, I wandered downstairs to find the missing alpha. Nobody was in the living room when I checked, but low voices coming from the kitchen made me prick my ears.

   “We can’t do it on Friday. Aren’t Kryoz and Smii7y leaving that day?” Scotty whispered faintly as I came closer.

   “Shit… you’re right. What other day would work?” Marcel responded.

   I hummed softly to myself, wondering what they were talking about as I stepped into the kitchen nonchalantly and headed towards the fridge. The conversation died out immediately as I made my way over.

   “Mornin’ boys.” I greeted the two demons who were sitting at the island counter. Glancing around, I noticed that it was just Scotty and Marcel in the room. Panda was nowhere to be found. “You two are up early.”

   The two members tensed and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw them exchange an uncertain look.

   “Mornin’ Brock. Did you just get up?” Marcel inquired, his eyes flashing with an emotion that I didn’t recognize.

   I shrugged as I rummaged through the fridge only to come out empty handed. “Not really. Brian and I woke up a little bit ago, but I just came downstairs to find Evan. Do you guys know where he is?”

   Scotty shook his head, his face appearing unconcerned compared to Marcel's brooding expression. “I have no idea. Did you check the gaming room though? He might be there.”

   I hummed thoughtfully. “Didn't think about that. I'll check though. Thanks guys.”

   I threw the last words over my shoulder as I walked out of the kitchen. The two continued whispering urgently as I left, leaving me to wonder what they had been talking about and why they were being so secretive about it.

   A part of me doubted that Evan was in the gaming room- perhaps because I couldn't smell him there.

   However, as I turned the corner into the gaming room, I glanced over only to spot the young alpha sitting on a stool in the far corner off to the side. Several wires attached him and the bright blue electric guitar in his hands to the gaming desk next to him. Over top of his dark, tousled hair sat a pair of headphones. It was a little unsettling to see the shapeshifter right in front of my eyes but to not be able to smell him at all.

   In our first years together, I had noticed many anomalies about Evan. Obviously, there was the blaring issue with his identity as a shapeshifter and his missing knowledge about his past. There were other things though. Like hiding his scent, for instance. He was surprisingly good at it but, after a few months of traveling with him, I realized that it was a coping mechanism, especially when it came to me and the others.

   Evan was a private person. He'd told me once before that he felt as though he burdened people if he told them what went on in his mind. That meant that, when he was upset, he hid himself away. Hiding his scent was one of the many things he did to accomplish that. As a subgender, our scent is like a mood ring in that it can tell a person with a sense of smell  _exactly_ how we’re feeling. It only made sense that Evan would hide his scent to hide his feelings.

   Including being able to erase his scent, I was always struck by the eerie fact that Evan could do so much more than shapeshifters are normally able to do. In that first year of our travels together, I'd studied shapeshifters without Evan’s knowledge. There were subtle things about him that made me curious enough to investigate, but I never wanted him to know I was suspicious of him. I was fairly certain that Evan didn't know about any of the aberrations in his abilities if only because, when I met him, he hadn’t known that he was a shapeshifter at all.

   I was a hundred percent certain that he didn’t know that I'd discovered the truth about his lost history either. In fact, Evan never told me about his history at all.

   Despite this, I knew that was why he'd been hunting down Lui for several months, even though Evan played it off as random chance. Evan had searched out Lui specifically, not only because he was a shifter, but because Lui was one of the record keepers on the west coast. He was known in the black market for selling out information to secret organizations for high prices. With that reputation, Lui was able to get into places barred to the rest of the public to hunt for certain documents- the contents of which Evan tried keeping from me for the longest time. It didn’t take me long to sneak past his defenses and learn what those documents were though, especially since the alpha had already claimed me as part of his pack by that point.

   Since then, I knew Lui was sent on missions to search for Evan’s history. I didn't know the extent to which they were searching or how much Evan didn't know, but I knew that they were looking through every document remotely related to Evan’s childhood. Somehow, the two of them had managed to keep it a secret from everyone else after all these years. Through our years together, I found that this little secret pressed on Evan’s conscience a lot.

   After all these years though, one thing had remained the same. Whenever Evan got too stressed, he resorted to this- hiding away to play his music.

   I leaned against the doorway and watched Evan’s ghostly figure pluck the strings of the guitar in his hands. The motion made no sound since the instrument was plugged into the computer sitting in front of him, but I still saw the ever shifting music program on the screen Evan was using. The alpha even glanced up at the monitor every once in a while and made a few adjustments here or there. Besides that constant movement, however, it seemed like he wasn't even there.

   I fully intended to just keep watching, but something must've given me away because Evan’s concentration promptly crumbled after a moment. The wheels in his head seemed to slow to a stop as I watched, his hand hovering over the strings he was playing on. Gradually, his head turned towards me, his brown eyes flickering up to my face. Guilt flashed in his appearance for a split second before it was smothered with an air of indifference.

   “Mornin’ Moo.” He greeted me, adjusting his headphones so that one ear was uncovered, and turned back to his guitar.

   I contemplated the response briefly before responding. “Mornin’. You’re up early.”

   Evan nodded and stretched back against his chair, his face nearly apathetic. The movement was nonchalant, but I knew better than to assume, especially when he responded with, “Couldn’t sleep.”

   I glowered at the alpha.

   Of course, I was well aware that Evan had troubles sleeping a lot more than he liked to admit. No matter what, he always seemed to have had that problem. In our early years, I'd thought his inability to sleep was a result of having to protect himself from people who could take advantage of him when he slept.

   Nowadays, I wasn’t so sure. Mini and I used to have a theory that Evan's insomnia was caused by the fact that he was unmated, a virgin, _and_ almost thirty. However, it seemed more unlikely as the days went by that that was the case. Insomnia kept Evan for longer periods nowadays and he seemed to be getting more distant by the day.

   I wasn’t sure why it was happening but, recently, I figured that his mask of casual detachment towards us, as well as his insomnia, had something to do with Mini and Wildcat. Evan, similar to myself, prided himself in keeping the pack healthy, mentally and physically. It was only to be expected that the couple’s situation tore him apart since there was no way that he could help. In that sense, I sympathized with the alpha.

   “You have to stop worrying about them.” I remarked from my spot in the doorway.

   Evan’s dark eyebrows furrowed together and he stopped again to look at me with a perplexed quirk in the corner of his lips. Then, understanding rippled across his face, his plump lips forming a faint “O” shape.

   “Right… Shit.”

   I watched as his face fell even further, a whole wave of mixed emotions flashing through his eyes.

   “Is that not what you’re worried about?” I inquired carefully, stepping into the room a little more.

   Evan scoffed. “I’m not worried. I’m fine.”

   I glared at the alpha and folded my arms as he idly strummed the strings of the guitar still in his lap. He ignored me for a good while before sighing. Without looking at me, he took his headphones off and cleared his throat.

   “Fine. You win. I’m… concerned.” He admitted in a disinclined tone. “I guess part of it is because of… those two.”

   Even though the alpha acted uninterested, I could see the anxiety in his eyes. For a moment, Evan sat clenching and unclenching his jaw. I couldn't help but stare at him in confusion.

   “What else are you worried about then?” I questioned, my face scrunching up involuntarily.

   Evan glanced up at me and rose an eyebrow. “I thought Mini told you.”

   I hesitated, racking my brain for anything that Mini had said about Evan recently.

   During the past two weeks, Mini and I had tried to talk about solutions to his problem. Mini was entirely convinced that everything was going to get worse from here on out. When I asked him if Kryoz’s solution had worked the last time Tyler got stuck two weeks ago, he said it had but vigorously denied using the strategy again. In fact, he told me that Wildcat almost seemed to have gotten worse, not because of his subcounter- although that probably had something to do with it- but because Tyler was steadily losing hope. Mini refused to tell me what Kryoz did to help, but he said he wouldn’t do it again unless absolutely necessary.

   I was fairly certain that Evan didn’t know any of this though, so I remained mystified by his comment. Said alpha stared at me from across the room, uncertainty plain on his face.

   “He did tell you about my meeting, didn’t he?”

   Everything slipped into place as he spoke and I’m sure it was evident on my face because Evan gave me a disconcerted look. I realized then that Evan already knew that I was much more involved with Mini’s issue then I let on.

   I nodded much too enthusiastically and averted my eyes. “Yeah. Yeah. He told me. He said you were supposed to meet with Zephyra a while back.”

   Evan lifted an eyebrow. “I wouldn't consider two weeks ago ‘a while back’ but anyway. She gave me a mission.”

   I waited patiently for the alpha to elaborate. When he didn’t, I sighed and strolled over to the couch in the middle of the room, leaning against it with my arms still folded. There I sat, still waiting for Evan to continue.

   “I’m in the process of coming up with a plan.” Evan remarked after a moment.

   “For?”

   The alpha took in a deep breath and let it out, glancing up at me warily. “Zephyra and I met to discuss a mission she had for me. She basically told me that there's a place somewhere in the area that I have to find and study.”

   “What place is it and why is she so interested?” I questioned, unease flickering through my stomach.

   Evan shifted uncomfortably, his brown eyes flickering away from me for a moment. Gently, he placed his guitar in it's rightful stand and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. The alpha rubbed his hands together before sighing.

   “There’s another lab somewhere nearby Brock.”

   An involuntary growl rumbled through my chest as I heard the words “lab” and “nearby” in the same sentence. The conscience of the werecat in my head fluttered ever so slightly. Evan rolled his shoulders back uneasily and straightened to share a look of sympathy with me.

   “I would say that I ‘nobly’ accepted this task, but it was actually kinda forced on me. Either way, I don't want you guys anywhere near such a horrible place, so I'm gonna help get rid of it as soon as possible.”

   I frowned. Of course, my mind immediately snatched onto the fact that Evan would be in harm's way if he went near a lab. My first instinct was to tell him he couldn't go and to chain him up if he challenged me. I knew I could do it too. Evan and I were just about matched for strength, but I had a slight height advantage on him. He wouldn't be able to escape me if I brought him down right then and there. The alpha wouldn't be happy either, but he'd be safe. This was my initial reaction.

   As I thought about it though, I had to reign in my instincts and admit that Evan had a point. The best option would be to get rid of the lab. If one of the pack members got caught by those savages, I would never forgive myself knowing that I'd stopped Evan from ending the lab's existence.

  However, my own memories of my time in the lab dampened the confidence that I knew it would take to go through with such a mission. Even the simple thought of going to another place like that, even if this time was voluntary, set my blood alight with anxiety. I tried desperately to push down my fear and focus on my surroundings. The method worked somewhat but so many other mixed emotions rippled through my chest as I understood some of the complications of this mission and why Evan was being so hesitant in telling me about it.

   “You said you have to find it right? Do you have any idea where to start looking?”

   Evan shook his head. “I have no idea.”

   “Well then how does she expect you to study it?”

   Evan shrugged. “I'm not sure. I have a meeting scheduled with Panlyog’s ambassadors next week though. Hopefully, I can con them into giving me some leads. I hope to pack up and leave immediately afterwards to scout out the lab. I'm not sure how long it’ll take to gather all of my information and, depending on whether or not I can discover something in Panlyog, I might be out there for weeks…” After a moment, the alpha laughed humorlessly. “I'm not sure how to feel about that.”

   I watched patiently as Evan sat, contemplating his decisions.

   It had almost been an unspoken, mutual decision between us from the beginning that we were to be patient with one another. Evan had waited for me to come out of my shell with gentle smiles and a caring shoulder to lean on. Since then, our roles had kind of been reversed.

   As expected, Evan slowly started losing the facade over his appearance. Gradually, his emotions began building in his face until he finally looked at me with a distraught expression that pulled his lips into thin lines.

   “I've never had to leave you guys alone for a long period of time. You guys have always been at my side since the moment we first met. You of all people know that I care a lot more about that fact than I show.” Evan sank into his chair and leaned over to place his face in his hands.

   “But I'm not sure what to do. Even when I have left, I've been back within a few days or I’ve at least taken someone with me. I have  _never_  been far from you guys though. It’s been seven years since the last time I was far enough away from you guys to not feel anyone through the bond. Now, I might have to travel past that distance until I can't hear you guys anymore.”

   Pain caused by my sympathy towards Evan’s predicament and the unsettling fear of having another lab near us constricted around my chest as I gazed down at the alpha.

   “Does that mean we aren't going with you?” I asked, partially confounded by the notion. Through everything that had happened in the last two weeks, I still never had a chance to ask Evan about whether or not we were going personally. Mini had summarized to me what Evan had told him by saying that Evan had a mission that was going to start taking up a lot of his time but he hadn’t told me any of the details about how our  _Lafaino_  was planning to go about said mission.

   Evan glanced up at me, sadness and concern creeping into his expression.

   “I’ll tell you the same thing that I told Mini. There are too many problems here for you guys to deal with before I can bring any of you with me. Until then, I’m going at this alone.”

   I simply let out a quiet “oh” at this. Part of me agreed with the alpha. With Mini and Wildcat being as unstable as they were, they weren't fit to leave supervision until they fixed their problem. So far as I knew, Evan didn’t know the direness of their situation but it shouldn't have surprised me that he would sense that something was off.

   With those two staying, it meant that I had to stay to make sure they stayed as stable as possible. Subsequently, that ruled Brian out of traveling since he rarely left my side. Marcel would probably have to stay to put down any fighting, either between the couple or from outside forces, and Scotty would probably stay to help him along with Panda. That basically ruled out everyone but Lui and Nogla. Those two were a bit too noticeable in public for them to go though, especially because Nogla couldn’t hide his wings. I sighed, realizing the extent of the predicament that Evan was in.

   However, as Evan started fidgeting more and more, I began to suspect that there was something else on his mind.

   “Is that really all you’re worried about though?” I asked.

   Evan frowned, his brown eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he glanced down at his hands. I followed his gaze to see that his hands were red and I noticed for the first time that he was barefooted at that moment.

   “I’ll tell you about it later… Maybe.” Evan responded, his gaze wavering in a paranoid fashion. “Right now though, you're really the only stable one between yourself and Mini. I don't need my only calm, collected beta more stressed out because of me. You’re gonna have to be my right hand man again these next few weeks. You up to the task?”

   I nodded. “Always.”

   Evan hummed. “Good. Anyway, I’m gonna go on a run out to the border and check up on some things. Keep the roof on the house would ya?”

   I huffed my acknowledgement, too busy thinking about what Evan said to really form any words. The alpha sighed in understanding, his near silent footsteps padding away from me. After a moment, I lost track of his footfalls which lead me to believe that he had already left.

   However, when I looked up, I realized that Evan stood in the entrance to the gaming room, in front of a stone faced Brian, his head only a few inches below eye level for the tall werecat.

   “Good morning Brian.” Evan greeted, his voice surprisingly light and happy as he lifted his head ever so slightly to look at the demon in front of him.

   Brian squinted, his eyes flashing with an unfamiliar emotion, before glancing over at me. I shrugged and flicked my head towards Evan in an encouraging gesture. Brian pursed his lips before looking back to the alpha and giving him a forced smile.

   “Mornin’ Evan. How’d ya sleep?”

   “As well as any other night. Thanks for asking though.” Evan responded.

   “What are the plans for today?” Brian inquired, his ears drawing back to expand the features of his face.

   “Smii7y called this morning to say that there was some sort of disturbance out on the western border last night. They want to make sure that, whatever it was, it didn’t come into our territory. I'm gonna go check it out myself and be back by lunch.”

   My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Evan definitely hadn’t mentioned this a moment ago.

   Brian remained expressionless as he asked, “Do you need any back up?”

   Evan shook his head.

   “I don't think so but, if I do, I’ll be sure to call for you guys.”

   Brian hummed thoughtfully and stepped out of the doorway, further into the room, to let Evan pass. “Alright. Well be careful anyway.”

   Evan nodded as he stepped past Brian. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but as the two passed each other, I could see the way Evan eyed Brian’s proximity with vigilance.

   My gaze wandered to Brian as Evan receded from my vision, into the darkness of the early morning hallway. He watched me wearily, the phantom of subdued displeasure drifting across his face. I opened my mouth to speak but stopped when Brian shook his head. Silence drew out between us for a moment before Brian cleared his throat.

   “I was wondering if you wanted to take a shower with me and go on a run.”

   I smiled internally at the thought as I stood up from the couch. “I would love to but I still gotta cook for everyone and I took a shower last night. I’ll definitely take you up on that run though.”

   Brian shrugged, his eyebrows furrowed. “Suit yerself. I reek so I’m gonna go take a shower. Then, I’ll ready for that run.”

   I nodded as I walked past the werecat and made my way down the hall to the kitchen. Scotty and Marcel had disappeared from their spot at the island counter. The sound of the TV faintly drifted in from the living room as I made my way in with Brian following just behind me.

   He leaned over my shoulder as I opened the fridge to look for what I should make for breakfast. I chuckled as he reached around me to grab the milk off a shelf and walked away to pour himself a glass.

   Glancing through, I suddenly had a craving for eggs and hash browns. So, I pulled out the ingredients and began gathering stuff to make the food that I so desired. Brian sat down across the counter from me and watched me affectionately for a while as I went about my business.

   Eventually, he stood and put his now empty glass into the sink before kissing my cheek and leaving to go upstairs.

   I hummed softly to myself and listened to the sounds coming from the living room as I worked. At one point, I glanced in to confirm the identity of the movie that was playing. I smiled as I spotted Marcel sitting on one side of the couch with Panda on the other end and Scotty stretched across their laps.

   Steadily, the morning sun began to rise to shine its light on the marble countertops of our kitchen, creating a peaceful and almost serene sense of belonging, as some mornings seem to be especially created for.

   I had only been cooking for about a half an hour when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shadows on the stairs going down to the basement shift. My attention flickered over in time to see a lanky, spotted leopard with a ruffled mane stalking up the steps. It shook its head drowsily as it reached the top and opened its eyes, the blue-gray orbs within landing on me. I offered the leopard a warm smile as it prowled closer, its shoulders flexing with each stride.

   “Good morning Mini.” I murmured softly as the beta wrapped around my legs and began purring deep in his chest. There were so many questions I could have asked him. Why was he downstairs? Was he in another fight? Had his leopard taken control again? All of these and more, however, I kept to myself.

   Downstairs, in the basement, there were several rooms and another sitting room that had been specifically designed for our animal forms. In most of the rooms, tree branches and rocky surfaces where we could sleep while on all fours had been set up for us when we built the house. When we all started out, it was common for us to stay in our animal forms for long periods of time. Nowadays, the basement wasn’t used all that much because we generally stayed in our human forms but it still held its uses every once in a while.

   I tried to discreetly scent the air around us for any signs of Mini being stuck when he looked up at me with slight exasperation.

   “ _Don’t worry. I’m in control right now._ ” The leopard reassured me patiently.

   I nodded, sighing briefly. “I thought so but I wasn't sure. It’s just always on my mind these days I guess.”

   Mini huffed grumpily. “ _Me and you both._ ”

   I shifted on my feet and continued stirring the eggs and hash browns cooking on the stove. “So, why are you in your animal form? It’s a lot more dangerous to stay like that.”

   Mini’s ears flattened against his head. “ _I just felt like it_.”

   I eyed the beta carefully, his square head coming up above my waist. Even though I knew I was bigger than Mini in my animal form, and despite knowing that I too was a demon, the leopard at my side still frightened me in some vague sense, especially when he decided to yawn, exposing long rows of sharp fangs. Mini wasn’t the only demon who intimidated me. Everyone but Brian did in some way. Actually, Brian scared me as well but my instincts made me more attracted then intimidated by his stature.

   “You and Wildcat got into it again, didn’t you?”

   Mini glared up at me, his blue-gray eyes attaining an unnatural goldish hue. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

   “Don’t look at me like that. I know you too well to know when you’re avoiding the truth.”

   “ _I don’t wanna talk about it_.” The leopard grumbled, his lips lifting briefly to expose his canines. I sighed and shrugged.

   “To each his own I guess.” His reaction simply confirmed my suspicion. I shook my head and sighed.

   “Brian’s awake. Last I checked, he was preparing to go for a run. I’m sure he’d let you join him. You guys haven't really spent much time together lately.” I offered, silently hoping that Brian wouldn't mind me giving up my spot by his side. The two were good friends though and Mini needed an escape at that moment.

   It was kind of obvious what I was doing so, I wasn’t surprised when Mini gave me a look of suspicion, his pupils turning into slits.

   “Oh come on. You and I both know that it would be good for you.” I murmured.

   The leopard continued to glare at me for a moment before huffing a sigh, his shoulders slouching. “ _Touche. It would be nice to steal your boyfriend from you anyway_.” Mini grinned, his fangs glinting in the rising sun as he got up and turned to walk away.

   “I think you’re gonna have issues with that one there Bud.” I remarked, chuckling as I imagined Brian running away from Craig with a disgusted look on his face.

   Mini waved his tail at me as he stalked up the stairs. “ _We’ll see_.”

   I smiled, a sense of accomplishment settling into my chest. Eventually, the food finished and I invited the trio in the living room to join me in a meal together. I realized belatedly that I should have made sure Evan got something before he left but I also knew that it was too late for that. If he wanted, he could easily catch something for himself while he was out. I didn't bother saving anything for Mini and Brian either for the same reason.

   Scotty, Marcel, Panda, and I ate in peace for a while until Nogla came stumbling down the stairs. Several of the feathers on the enormous white wings on his back looked ruffled, as if he had been thrown through a storm. His dark hair appeared in similar disarray and I couldn’t help but smile as Nogla’s nose lead him steadily towards the smell of the food on the dining table wedged in the corner of the kitchen. Lui arrived shortly after him, opting for some toast and a few eggs, unlike Wildcat who wandered down afterwards and shoveled a whole plateful of food in his mouth.

   I eyed the alpha, looking for any hints as to what him and Mini had fought about, if they had even fought, but found nothing. So, I simply sat back and enjoyed everyone’s company.

   We joked around and talked about random things like usual. Gradually, as people started finishing their food, the group thinned out a little. Panda went upstairs to take a shower while Tyler decided to go for a run. I silently hoped that he wouldn’t run into Mini and Brian when they went out as well. Lui and Nogla settled down in the living room, waiting for Marcel to put on a movie while Scotty helped me clean up breakfast.

   Scotty and I had just finished doing the dishes when two looming shadows appeared at the top of the stairs. I glanced up to see Brian stalking down the steps, his spotted face and striped back moving with a sort of grace unique to felines. Mini followed close behind, his tan fur glowing under the sunlight as the two demons entered the kitchen. Brian nudged Scotty’s legs in greeting and moved on to headbutt me in the side while Mini gave his greetings to Scotty as well.

   “You guys heading out?” I asked quietly, looking down to the tall werecat by my side. Brian blinked up at me in confirmation, his blue eyes flexing against the light coming in through the kitchen windows. Something in his gaze made me squirm as I realized that I was gonna have my butt chewed out for substituting my presence with Mini’s later.

   “Alright well be careful.” I warned as the two cats turned to head out the door. They both waved their tails at me in acknowledgment. The door clicked shut shortly afterwards.

   “Hey Brock. Do you know where the movie that we were watching last night is?” Marcel’s voice appeared just behind me.

   I turned to face him with a shrug. “I have no idea.”

   “I think Mini took it downstairs cause he wanted to finish watching it last night.” Scotty interjected.

   “I can go get it then.” I offered.

   Marcel clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture and blinked rapidly at me. “Would you? Please?”

   I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Yes,  _Your Majesty_. I'll get the movie.”

   “Hey. I will get that castle one of these days. Then, that won't even be a joke anymore.” Marcel retorted, pointing a finger at me.

   I simply chuckled as I put down the wash rag I had been using and headed downstairs.

   The bottom of the stairs opened up into a spacious sitting room with an elevated area in the back. Chairs were set up along the rising to see over the heads of the people who sat on the couch in front of them. In front of the couch, in the middle of the room, sat a long, glass coffee table. I had argued that we would break it within two weeks of having it but, somehow, it had survived for almost a year now. On the wall on the right side of the room, a giant flat screen TV had been set up for all to see. Down the hall on the right, I knew there were about five other rooms with beds and blankets but my main concern at that moment was the sitting room in which I entered.

   A pile of blankets sat on the end of the main couch, signifying Mini’s stay last night. On top of the blankets sat the movie case for the show Marcel was talking about. I walked over and opened it to make sure the disc was in there. Luckily, it was, so I turned and headed back upstairs to give the movie to Marcel.

   “Thank you Brock. You're the best.” The tiger complimented me as I handed him the case.

   I smirked and rolled my shoulders back. “I know. I’m the greatest aren’t I?”

   Lui gave me a questionable look while Nogla chuckled.

   “I wouldn't go _that_ far.” Scotty remarked.

   I placed my hand over my chest dramatically and stumbled back until the backs of my knees hit the couch before sitting down.

   “Ouch. Rude.”

   The others simply chuckled. We spent the rest of the morning watching movies together and just in general being content with sitting and doing nothing.

   As promised, Evan returned around noon. At the time, only Scotty and I were in the living room since everyone else decided to take a bathroom break.

   “Fourzero. Moo.” He called to us from the entranceway as he made his way over to the couch where we were sitting.

   “What’s up?” Scotty answered, his attention turning to the alpha.

   “Would you guys want to take a patrol out to the western border?”

   Scotty rose an eyebrow at this and nodded slowly. “Sure. But what for? Did something happen?”

   Evan shook his head. “I’m not sure. Smii7y and Kryoz told me something was off this morning when they woke up though. They heard some weird things last night and there was this strange scent around their house when I arrived. I didn’t find anything else on my way back from their house but I want to be cautious. I’m gonna send another patrol to the northern border to check around that area. You guys alright with that?”

   I nodded while Scotty voiced his assent.

   “Great. I’ll have you guys head out now. Come back in an hour and let me know what you find.” Evan ordered as he headed off into the house to find the others.

   “Alright well. I guess we have our work set out for us don’t we?” I commented to Scotty.

   The panther at my side shrugged. “Yeah. Well, I was kinda itching for something to do so.”

   “Touche. I gotta go to the bathroom before we leave so I'll meet you down here in five. Then we'll head out. Sound good?”

   Scotty nodded. “Sure man.”

   I smiled and went to the upstairs bathroom to do my business before heading to my room and grabbing a jacket to spawn, just in case.

   As expected, Scotty sat at the bottom of the stairs, scrolling through his phone, waiting for me in a pair of jeans and a gray sweatshirt. I smiled as I passed him to get my shoes. He smiled back.

   “Ya ready?”

   I nodded as I grabbed a pair of shoes and followed him out the door.

   Once outside, I listened to the combined sounds of Scotty and I as we transformed into our animal forms, the sounds of our bones and skin shifting making a curious melody in the afternoon air. Scotty finished before me so that, by the time I was on all fours, he had already begun his stretches, the tan stripes of fur on his hind legs extending out close to my head. I smiled as I sunk into my own transformation, relishing in the fur covering my body and the new, heightened sensations of the world around me.

   Drawing in a deep breath, I could smell the faint tang of rain on the way along with the underlying scents of the wildlife that inhabited our part of the forest. Smiling internally, I dropped down to the ground and rolled around in the grass at my feet, coating every accessible part of my body in dirt and the smell of crushed leaves.

   Scotty huffed lightly at me before joining in, evidence by the sound of his heavy body thumping against the ground, the light breezy echoes of the grass moving under him tickling my ears. I growled playfully at him and jumped up to headbutt his side before prancing around and running off into the undergrowth. The sound of Scotty’s footsteps followed me out of the bushes and into the woods beyond.

   I smiled as we bounded off through the forest, towards the western border. Scotty and I played a few rounds of tag on our way, both of us taking the chance to enjoy the freedom.

   The air remained still and the trees blazed in a wild afternoon glory even as storms brewed in the distance. Rain was definitely on the way but, for now, it was peaceful.

   We wandered around the territory for a while, checking the air every so often to make sure we didn’t miss anything. It was about an hour later when we decided to head back to the house. However, we had to stop before we even had a chance to start on our way back.

   “ _Wait…_ ” Scotty paused in his tracks, one paw raised off the ground. I stopped just behind him.

   “ _What is it?_ ”

   The panther’s head rose into the air, his mouth drawn open. Suddenly, the tan ridge of fur along his spine stood straight up and his hackles rose with a hiss.

   Given his reaction, I also tilted my head back to scent the air. What greeted me wasn’t the smell of any ordinary demon, or human for that matter, like I had been expecting. Instead, the air was fraught with the smell of disease and sickness. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up as the faint reek of metal cages and synthetic sedatives drifted across my scent glands, reminding me all too vividly of the lab I had been imprisoned in all those years ago.

   “ _What do you think it is_?” I asked, my paws suddenly shaking.

   Scotty shook his head. “ _I don’t know but it smells like bad news._ ”

   “ _No shit._ ” I growled, stuck between an impulse to scent the air again and wanting to close out the smell completely. The stench of sickness stayed as I took in another breath but the ever so slight whiff of the place that I was so morbidly terrified of seemed to have dissipated. I sat for a moment, confused as to whether or not I had actually smelled it.

   “ _We should head back._ ” I suggested quickly, the smell crawling under my skin in some obscene way.

   Scotty scented the air again before looking at me. “ _Shouldn't we investigate?_ ”

   I shook my head vigorously and began retracing my steps back to the house.

   “ _No._ ”

   Part of me knew I was letting my paranoia get ahold of me but I couldn't help it. The longer I stood there, the longer the scent clinged to my pelt and the more unsure I became of my sudden anxiety. I gave myself a vicious shake and increased the pace, Scotty following close behind.

   “ _Why aren't we staying to check? It could be something important._ ”

   I turned on the panther abruptly with an involuntary snarl. Scotty paused at my expression, his face overcome with concern.

   “ _Hey man. You alright?_ ”

   I grimaced at my own reaction and tried to calm myself with deep breaths. There wasn’t really any explanation for the panic that started to crawl through my legs but it was there nonetheless.

   “ _What are you talking about? I'm fine._ ”

   Scotty raised an eyebrow at me. “ _No. You’re not. What’s wrong?_ ”

   I shook my head, fear making me dizzy.

   “ _Nothing. I just… I don't like the smell._ ”

   Scotty frowned. “ _Neither do I. It’s irritating me to no end but Evan said to investigate and report back._ ”

   I racked my brain for any logical reasoning as to my panic but couldn't find much besides the overlying fact that, for a split second, I had been transported back to the lab. As I scented the air again, I realized another factor though.

   “ _Whatever sickness it has could be contagious. Or… or it could be a feral_.”

   Scotty seemed to contemplate this for a moment as he looked over his shoulder anxiously. After a second, he hummed thoughtfully.

   “ _Now that I think about it, you might be right_.”

   I nodded enthusiastically and walked over to nudge Scotty in the direction of the house.

   “ _All the more reason to go back for reinforcements_.”

   Scotty grunted and, much to my delight, began walking in the direction I was pointing him.

   “ _We'll go for backup but I'm coming straight back to help._ ” The panther grumbled.

   “ _That's fine._ ” I responded, internally sighing in relief.

   With that, Scotty and I trotted back to the house, the playfulness from earlier gone in the face of urgency.

   My body slowly began to relax as I came away from the border and went farther into the heart of the territory. A part of me felt childish for running from a simple smell but something about it had made me so extremely paranoid.

   I glanced up at the treetops as we walked. They still glowed with majesty, they’re glory withholding while anxiety slowly rose in my throat.

   Scotty and I got back to the house shortly after that. Once we got to the porch, we both sunk into our shifts quicker than usual, forcing the change more than we normally would. The ache of my body greeted me as I stood on two feet again. Neither of us bothered with stretching, opting for a swift entrance into the house.

   Evan’s alpha musk guided us to the kitchen where he stood with his back to us talking to Anthony. Panda noticed us first and nodded towards us. Evan turned to greet us with a smile. Scotty and I, on the other hand, definitely weren't smiling.

   “What happened? Did you hear Kryoz and Smii7y doing the dirty?” Panda laughed while Evan smirked.

   I let out a nervous chuckle and tried to get my hands to stop shaking as I glanced over at Scotty. Normally, the panther would join in on the laughter. This time, however, his lips stayed resolutely still. It only took a moment for Evan to notice.

   “What is it?” Evan demanded, his optimistic energy disappearing immediately.

   I looked to Scotty for the answer. He nodded at me in acknowledgement before stepping forward.

   “We went to the western border as instructed. There was an unfamiliar scent there. It reeked of disease and blood. I’m not sure what it was or if it’s even in the territory but it’s disgusting whatever it is. We wanted to come back for reinforcements before we followed the trail.”

   Evan frowned as Scotty finished.

   “What are you guys talking about?” Panda asked, seeming uncomfortably out of place.

   I glanced up at the mountain lion while Evan sighed.

   “I went to Smii7y and Kryoz’s house this morning because they were paranoid about something coming into our territory. Personally, I didn’t find anything.” Evan responded to Jiggly’s question before turning back to us. “Was the smell fresh?”

   I looked to Scotty for the answer, not trusting that I was able to tell the time period in my state of anxiety. Luckily, the panther confirmed the time for me.

   “It smelled like it came through about a half hour or so ago when we were there. Brock thinks it’s a feral.”

   All eyes turned on me at once. I shrunk from the sudden attention, uncertain how to respond. Evan’s face softened at this.

   “What happened Brock?” He asked gently.

   I took a deep breath, my eyes flickering back and forth between everyone’s faces awkwardly.

   “I don’t know. I just… There was something about it that I absolutely- I just loathed.”

   Evan gave me a worried look. “Do you know why?”

   I tried to shake my head but stopped halfway through. Especially then, I wasn’t sure that I had actually smelled anything regarding the human labs. If anything, there could have been a demon in the lab I was in that had smelled the same and I didn’t realize it. Either way, something about the scent we had picked up reminded me of my time in that horrid place.

   “It just made me remember something that I’ve tried really hard to forget.” I told them quietly.

   Everyone gave me a look of sympathy, Evan especially. At some point in time, I had told every member of the pack about my past. They all knew that it was something that I didn’t deal with easily.

   “I understand.” The alpha stated with a sigh. “It’s good that you guys came back anyway. Would you be up for going back out there Moo?”

   I tried to get myself to agree but my body locked up involuntarily. Evan simply nodded in understanding.

   “Actually, I’m gonna have a few of us go out there. Would you mind staying behind to make sure no one here breaks anything?”

   I nodded silently.

   “Alright.” Evan continued. “Scotty would you be willing to take us to the last spot you guys found the scent at?”

   Scotty nodded. “Always.”

   Evan patted his thighs lightly, as if to prep himself. “Good. I’ll gather some others and we’ll head out in ten.”

   Scotty gave the alpha thumbs up before walking away, towards the living room. Panda followed him with a pensive expression as Evan turned to me.

   “You alright?” He asked.

   I took a deep breath and let it out. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

   “You sure?”

   I nodded in self assurance. “Yeah. I’m good. Thanks Ev.”

   Evan hummed considerably and patted my shoulder before turning to follow the others into the living room. I waited for a moment before heading upstairs, to my room. There, I sat on my bed thinking about what this new threat could be.

   Then again, it could very well just be some rogue coming in and not an actual threat. I hoped with all my heart that that was the case. There were too many problems for everyone to deal with, especially in Evan’s case, for something new like this to suddenly be thrown in.

   I sighed. No matter what I told myself, I knew nothing good would come of this. My instincts told me so.

   I had barely settled into a comfortable spot on my bed, with my back against the wall, when the door downstairs opened and a group of people came walking in. Quietly, I listened to the sounds of people conversing for a minute. Then, a distinct set of footsteps came thumping up the stairs. Mini’s scent wafted in from the hallway briefly as he reached the top of the steps before it was replaced by an all too familiar honeydew aroma.

   “Hi Brian.” I greeted the werecat as he crossed the threshold of my room. Immediately, his tall, tufted ears perked up as he prowled closer to me, his footsteps surprisingly silent on the hardwood floors.

   As he reached the edge of the bed, Brian leaned back on his hind legs to place the front half of his lanky body on the bed, his forelegs stretched towards me as far as they could go. The ends of his enormous furry paws barely touched my calves with how big the bed was though. So, he sat glaring at me from the edge, his chin set down squarely on the bed, waiting impatiently for me to come closer.

   After a moment, I scooted all the way forward until my legs almost touched his muzzle. He huffed and scrunched up his face but readjusted himself nonetheless.

   A gentle smile pulled at my lips as Brian leaned forward and pressed the top of his head into my stomach. I sat for a minute, carefully carding my fingers between his ears and down through the thick fur covering his neck. Brian only let me pet him for a moment before he lifted his head to give me an apologetic look.

   “ _Evan recruited me for the patrol that’s going out to where you and Scotty were earlier._ ” He told me guiltily.

   I nodded slowly. “Makes sense. Be careful though Bri. I don’t know what that was but it’s not good.” The werecat in my lap tilted his head to the side. “You’ll see when you get there.”

   Brian gave me a disconcerted look before shrugging. “ _I’m a big boy. I’ll be able to handle it_.”

   I rolled my eyes fondly. “I’m sure you will. Who else is going?”

   Brian thought for a moment before responding. “I think it's just me, Evan, Scotty, Wildcat, and Nogla.”

   I hummed thoughtfully. “Seems like a good team.”

   Brian shrugged. “ _I guess you could say that_.”

   “You guys leave pretty soon though, don’t you?”

   The werecat head in my lap sighed. “ _Yeah. Evan said that you weren't feeling good though so I came to check in on you._ ”

   I glanced down at Brian, shifting to get one of my feet out from underneath the large head resting on my legs.

   “Thanks. I’m good though.” Brian narrowed his eyes at me, but he didn’t question my statement. “You should head out before Evan yells at you.”

   Brian scoffed as he scooted back off of the bed. “ _He wouldn’t dare_.”

   I made a face as I got up to follow the werecat out the door. “I beg to differ on that one.”

   The feline in front of me simply chuckled as we made our way downstairs.

   In the living room, the people that Brian had listed off for the patrol, plus Lui, stood in a circle conversing in low voices. As we approached, I heard Wildcat talking about precautions that they would have to take. I glanced around to see if Mini was in to listen to this, but he was nowhere to be found.

   “If it is a feral, we gotta make sure we warn the others outside of the territory as well.” Lui recommended as Brian and I stepped into the throng.

   Tyler nodded. “I don’t think we have the resources to fight a feral or put them down unless we go hunting and get the supplies we need. Most importantly, I know that we don’t have Bane’s Root and that’s like a major thing we would have to have if we were to kill the demon. We’d have to ask Droid for a few things and that could take days to get.”

   “We still don’t know for sure if it is a feral either though.” Nogla interrupted.

   Everyone made sounds of acknowledgement at this, their faces contorting into expressions of perplexment.

   “ _That’s why we have to investigate then. We can decide what to do when we know for sure what this is and whether or not we can do anything about it._ ” Brian piped up.

   Tyler sighed and patted his thighs in a similar fashion to what Evan had done earlier.

   “That’s true. So, is everyone ready?”

   The whole group as one unified unite seemed to nod all at once in confirmation.

   “Alright! Let’s head out.” Evan directed, making a motion towards the front door.

   Together, the group headed out, leaving Lui and I in the living room. Brian rubbed against my leg languidly before he followed suit. Silently, I waited until I heard the door shut before sighing.

   “You alright there Brock?” Lui questioned once they were gone.

   I looked over my shoulder to see the shapeshifter watching me with a nearly indifferent expression.

   “I’ll be fine.”

   Lui nodded and left to the kitchen. I smiled softly, grateful for the concern that the members showed me. After everyone left, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. So, as per usual, I decided to start cooking.

   It wasn’t dinner time yet so I decided to make muffins for tomorrow’s breakfast. That only took about an hour so, when they finished, I worked on dinner. Just to be sure, and partially because I would have been bored otherwise, I made macaroni, mashed potatoes, and steak for everyone in the pack. I wasn’t certain when the others would be back but I knew that they’d appreciate a good meal when they returned.

   Mini and Marcel joined me for dinner at the dining table when I finally stopped cooking. Really, they were the only ones home which made the house much quieter than usual. I was half tempted to ask Mini how his walk with Brian went but, after the day’s events, I suddenly lacked the motivation. Lui grabbed some food later on in the evening before going to the gaming room while Panda seemed to have migrated back to his room.

   The clouds finally began releasing their heavy bellies upon the earth below as the three of us ate. I watched the rain pour outside the kitchen windows while the other two traded small talk. Somehow, I felt something awaken from within the very depths of my soul, some instinct telling me that everything was going to change… soon.

   I finished eating and got up to do a few dishes before wandering back upstairs. Except, this time, I stopped by Brian’s room and let myself in, deciding that his scent would help me relax until he got back. Eventually, as I waited for Brian to return, my mind wandered back to Evan’s ordeal.

   When I had first met the alpha, he had definitely been the kind of person who could solve any problem and leap into any situation head first, regardless of the danger it held. Nowadays, we, as a pack, had taken up a lot of his focus.

   On one hand, I was partly convinced that we had mitigated Evan’s survival instincts to some extent. On the other hand, I was beginning to feel as though we had tamed Evan over the years.

   Even after Evan and I had traveled together for a while, I had been aware of the blood thirst within his mind for quite some time. I realized now that it hadn’t actually been Evan that was the malicious one though. Instead, I knew that the alpha in his head was stronger than most and it tended to come out in the worst ways possible at that time.

   Presently, it seemed as if the animal in Evan had gotten better, or maybe Evan simply figured out how to keep him away from us. Either way, Evan had lost some of his independence while gaining companionship when he joined us all together.

   Certainly, I didn’t think he minded. However, Zephyra’s newest mission seemed to have put on some more pressure at a time that was of dire importance to how things would turn out for our little group.

   Our  _Kafaira,_ the renowned Zephyra Evelynn, was a whole other anomaly to me in ways that reminded me of Evan. I had met her once, when we escaped the lab.

   After Savannah released us, the legendary she-wolf had appeared out of the misty morning in a flash of brilliance. She checked in with every single one of us prisoners individually to make sure we were at least alive. It was only later that I learned how long she had been working on freeing us.

   To every captive who she met, Zephyra expressed her sincerest apologies and groveled before us periodically during the next few months of rehabilitation for not getting there sooner.

   Perhaps that was why I didn’t share the same sense of apprehension as everyone else did when it came to the mention of the  _Kafaira_. I had stood in her presence and watched her bow humbly at my feet for something that she truly had no control over. During the next two months, she attended to everyone’s needs, even going so far as to bring us to a hospital specifically made for the rehabilitation of prisoners like me.

   From a young age, every demon and human is taught our history and who is in charge of certain things. I knew for years who Zephyra was and some of the myths and legends surrounding her. However, it took me 24 years to really appreciate the fact that she wasn’t the esteemed, high and mighty wolf of legend that everyone made her out to be. In fact, she was the most humble person I had met.

   Evan didn’t think so. I wasn’t there when the two met for the first time but, whatever they talked about, set both of them at opposite ends of the spectrum. Since then, Evan told me that they did nothing but butt heads. It seemed to be almost inevitable that he got irritated by her actions or words, despite realizing the truth and wisdom behind them.

   As I thought about this, I found myself wishing that I could meet the wolf again, if only to feel half as powerful as she was. However, at that moment, I felt weak.

   Both of my leaders had sacrificed many things for me. Evan sacrificed his safety and his freedom while Zephyra gave up her sanity and free will for the good of her people. Then, there was me; the person who got triggered easily.

   I couldn't think that way though. Despite knowing that I could be doing so much more at that moment, like helping the others search for the mysterious rogue whose scent revolted me, I also knew that negative thoughts like that would not do. If anything, I convinced myself that I was still helping simply by being safe in the house.

   With that thought in mind, I hummed lightly to myself and started drifting into sleep when, suddenly, the door to Brian’s room swung open. I lifted my head in time to see said werecat, still in his animal form and covered in mud. He surveyed the room quickly from the doorway before stalking over to me, a mischievous glint in his eye.

   “Don’t you dare.” I growled as I watched him lower his head and stop at the end of the bed. “I swear to Ladet Brian-”

   Without warning, the werecat launched himself onto the bed next to me, mud spraying from his coarse fur.

   “Brian!” I thundered but he took no mind to my tone, instead opting for a vigorous shake of his pelt. I yelped as a splotch of mud slapped me across the cheek. “Brian!” I tried again but he was too focused on his mission to get everything dirty to notice. “You're such a dick!”

   At that point, Brian stopped and bounced around a little until he was standing perpendicular over me. I watched, mildly impressed, as he grinned, his fuzzy lips peeling back to reveal two elongated fangs.

   “ _I know you are but what am I_?”

   I rolled my eyes and reached up to wipe the mud off my face but, before I could get my hand so much as an inch from the bed, Brian turned and pinned both of my arms down with massive paws, his grin widening marginally.

   “Brian.” I warned lowly.

   The werecat stuck his tongue out and slowly leaned down towards my face while I squirmed underneath him in an effort to get away. It was kinda pointless since Brian weighed way more than me in his animal form but I struggled nonetheless. A cat's tongue is spiky in a way that resembles a brush so that we can comb our fur when giving ourselves bathes. In animal form, this was a welcome characteristic. In human form, against soft skin, unprotected by fur, this fact was very unsettling.

   “Brian! If that tongue touches my face, I swear-!” I hissed, glaring up at the large square head above me.

   The werecat paused and then, in one swift motion, licked the huge chunk of mud off of my face. I wrenched my arm up against the pressure of Brian’s enormous paws, fully intending to hit him in the face, when it registered that his tongue hadn’t actually touched my skin.

   I hesitated for a moment and reached up to touch my cheek were the mud had been. The entire clump had been taken of my face and I knew then that, despite the speed with which Brian cleaned my face, he had been careful not to touch my skin.

   Mildly impressed and feeling a bit guilty for thinking he would be so mean, I chuckled nervously and gave him an apologetic look.

   “ _You were gonna hit me_.” Brian uttered in disbelief.

   I smiled sheepishly and reached up to rub the back of my head.

   “ _And you call me the dick_.” Brian grumbled, hopping off the bed and beginning his transformation back into human form.

   I shrugged innocently. “It was instinct.”

   Brian rolled his eyes half way through his shift, the motion probably a little sickening to an unfamiliar eye. In the spot that he stood in, a pile of mud sludged down to await clean up in a giant puddle. I waited until he had finished before clearing my throat.

   “So… what’d you guys find?” I inquired. Brian glanced up at me as he unzipped his jacket and took it off to toss in his dirty laundry basket in the corner of the room.

   “We checked the area that you and Scotty were talking about but we still didn’t find anything. The scent lead back out of the territory and disappeared, which is disturbing but at least we don’t have to deal with it being here.” Brian paused to frown as he meandered over to his dresser to pull out a different t-shirt, one of the ones he used for pajamas.

   “Are we going to do what Lui said then and telling the others outside of the territory?”

   Brian nodded. “Yeah. Evan said he’ll work on doing that tomorrow.”

   I sighed. As usual, Evan’s stress had just been increased tenfold. I made a mental note to try and catch him before he left tomorrow morning.

   Brian turned with his new shirt on to look at me with a raised eyebrow.

   “How do I look?”

   I smiled. “You look like crap. Like usual.”

   The werecat across the room rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Like your one to talk Mr. Mudface.”

   I couldn’t help but guffaw at the comment.

   “And who’s fault is that?” I growled.

   Brian looked down at himself and observed his appearance intently.

   “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There is no mud anywhere near me.”

   I raised my eyebrows and leaned over the edge of the bed to glare down at the pile of mud Brian had left in the wake of his shift. Then, I lifted my head to scowl at the werecat.

   “You were saying?”

   Brian shrugged. “Wasn’t me. I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

   I rolled my eyes as I stood up.

   “You’re cleaning it up either way.” I told him, taking a handful of his shirt to pull him closer.

   A grin graced my face as I watched Brian’s pupils dilate to an impressive size. His nearly black eyes drifted down to my lips as his eyelids drooped ever so slightly.

   Before he even had a chance to lean in for a kiss, I let go of his shirt and placed a hand over his mouth.

   “Nope. I’m mad at you. So, while I’m taking a shower, you can think about what you’ve done.” I declared as I sauntered away. The sound of Brian’s flustered laugh followed me out of the room.

   It only took me about fifteen minutes to get through the shower. I was partially drawn to the idea of letting Brian stew for a while longer but my body called for the kind of detox that couldn’t be satisfied by the enticing sensations of the hot water.

   I sighed contently as I turned the water off and dried myself enough to wrap the towel around my waist before walking to my room for clothes. A part of me expected Brian to be curled up in my bed when I returned but, as I entered, I realized he wasn’t there. Too lazy to go find him, I got dressed and crawled into bed, wrapping myself up in my warm blankets.

   As expected, Brian eventually came wandering in to find me. I stayed cocooned in the warmth of my bed as he came up to me. The werecat smiled as he stood at the edge of the bed before leaning down to place a gentle kiss to my lips. The corners of my mouth lifted as he crawled into bed next to me and curled up against me. I turned onto my side to face him and bury my face in his chest.

   “I’m so glad you’re mine Brock.” Brian whispered softly as I sank into his embrace.

   I practically purred at his words and snuggled closer to the broad chest in front of me. I’m not sure when we fell asleep but, between listening to the rhythm of the other’s heart and the sound of our breathing mingling together we ended up falling asleep in the peace that came before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made a post a little while ago on Twitter saying that this chapter would be extremely delayed and, for that, I apologize. I mentioned it at the beginning of this fic but my writing style is really flimsy in that, if I want to write romance, I write romance and if I wanna write action, I write action. However, not every chapter includes the element that I want to write which makes it difficult to concentrate on one chapter. While this means that one chapter may be delayed, it also means that I am developing other parts of the story in the meantime. Trust me when I say that the next few chapters will be interesting~
> 
> On the topic of shifting: On top of being able to spawn clothes to wear after a shift, a demon can shed anything that may cling to their animal forms. This means that dirt, burrs, and water just kind of melt off the person’s fur and into a pile when they shift. The only exception to this is blood. Blood remains no matter what because it’s something that is technically included as a part of their body, if that makes sense.
> 
> Scars: Like I said, there are certain exceptions to being able to cover up scars. For people like Zephyra, their scars can sometimes be too life threatening or their body can be too mutilated for anybody to reconnect certain parts of the wound and, therefore, the scars remain. Also, not everybody can heal themselves. I mentioned in the first chapter that beta’s sort of specialize in molecular regeneration which is the general term used for healing. Some people are simply more gifted than others when it comes to these abilities and some people can actually teach themselves how to do this.
> 
> As a side note, Halloween is coming up and I am so excited for it even though it’s on a Tuesday so we have school and it’s deadline week but oh well~ We’ll enjoy it either way.  
> Speaking of which, I plan to maybe be Delirious for Halloween. What are you guys going as and what is your favorite Halloween movie? (People who see this after Halloween are welcome to answer as well~)  
> Thanks for reading and Happy Halloween <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After what happened with Minicat two chapters ago, I decided to add some hurt and comfort before things really pick up in the plot and things go to crap ^^’ Also, this chapter contains the first fight scene that I have ever written dictated in nothing but dialogue. It might seem a little funky, but hopefully the point gets across.
> 
> As a note on betas and their abilities, I want to reiterate that betas are the glue for the packs. They have the power to control conflicts and, like Evan said in the beginning, they have the ability to heal wounds. When it comes to conflicts, betas can either fight people physically to break it up or, if the circumstances aren’t that bad and they catch it early, they can produce a sort of heat through their body and that heat can be used with their pheromones to calm people or it can be used to order them into submission. Alphas also have the ability to order members of their pack to do things and their orders override any order made by a beta, but a beta’s order has the same level of power as an alpha’s. A beta’s abilities are derived from the pack alpha, however. Their powers deplete the further they distance themselves from their pack. Whether it's through mental or physical efforts doesn't matter.
> 
> Disclaimer: The packs and rogues in this chapter that Evan spoke to don’t consist of any other YouTubers, so there are no rivalries. Next chapter and the others will include some different ones though. It’ll be more obvious when I get to those points, especially for next chapter. Until then...
> 
> Enjoy!

**Mini’s Perspective**

_The next day_

   Unfortunately, I didn’t wake up with Tyler by my side as usual when I woke up that morning. The room was still dark when I opened my eyes and no warmth accompanied my side. Not like I was expecting there to be anyway.

   Glancing at the clock on my bedside table, I realized that it was seven in the morning. For other people, this would be too early. For me, I couldn’t go back to sleep either way, so I sighed and rolled over in my bed, swinging my legs over the edge.

   I sat for a moment, contemplating my life decisions before hauling myself up. My legs groaned in protest as I stood and stretched, my body rebelling against the idea of getting up so soon.

   Yesterday, I stayed in my animal form for most of the day which meant that my body ached more than usual when I finally shifted back later in the evening. Luckily, the leopard in me hadn’t tried attacking me during that time. Despite tthe gratitude I felt for not having to deal with him, it was unsettling for him to be so inactive.

   It had been a while before I got to sleep last night since I stayed up with Marcel for a bit, watching movies. On top of that, Tyler and I had been avoiding each other all day which made me more exhausted than usual and I assume that's why the leopard in me wasn't nearly as active as it normally is.

   I tried to convince myself that ignoring Tyler had been unintentional. However, I knew that that wasn’t true. Even the leopard in me hadn’t really wanted to talk to Tyler, which was astounding considering all the grief it had been causing me lately about the whole “mates” thing. Today probably wasn't going to be any different.

   I huffed a sigh and wandered over to my closet to pull out some new clothes before going to the bathroom for a shower. For a while, I stood under the hot water. My body relaxed marginally as I allowed the steam around me sink in. I’m not sure how long I spent in there, but, by the time I got out, my fingers were wrinkly.

   Briefly, I glanced in the mirror only to look away with a grimace as I glimpsed the dark puffy circles under my eyes. With a low growl, I made my way out of the bathroom and down the hall, back to my room.

   Slowly, I finished drying myself off and put on some comfy clothes to relax in for the day before heading downstairs.

   No fresh scents greeted me as I entered the kitchen. Assuming I was alone, I pulled out the giant tupperware that contained the muffins Moo made yesterday and pulled out two to munch on with a glass of milk.

   Humming to myself in an effort to bring up my mood, I headed to the gaming room for some well earned “me time”. However, as I walked down the hall, two familiar aromas drifted across my nose. Smiling, I turned the corner to find that Lui and Nogla had already beat me to the relaxing part of my day.

   In the middle of the room, on the floor, sat Nogla with Lui seated behind him on one side of the couch. The two were unusually quiet as I approached them and I soon saw why.

   One of Nogla’s enormous white wings spread itself across the side of the couch where Lui sat while the other one remained curled in loosely against his body. His focus was diverted towards a book that sat in his lap. Lui, on the other hand, seemed intrinsically invested in the wing in front of him. A small notebook sat in the shapeshifter’s lap, a pen in hand.

   This wasn't an uncommon sight for these two since they did it all the time. One always got the sense that they had walked in on something intimate when they saw them like this though.

   “Good mornin’ Craig.” Surprisingly, Nogla was the one who greeted me while Lui remained focused on his task of noting down every detail of Nogla’s wing.

   “Mornin’ Nogla. How’d you guys sleep?”

   “We didn’t.” Came the response.

   I rose an eyebrow as I walked around the end of the couch and took up a spot on the opposite end of where Lui sat.

   “And why is that?” I asked softly, not really willing to interfere with the cocoon of silence that the two had been enveloped in. Lui was the one to answer me this time.

   “We're still on coastal time.”

   “It's been like two weeks since you guys got back.” I replied, only mildly surprised.

   Nogla nodded. “And we haven't bot’ered adjusting our sleeping schedule since then so we’ve been staying up real late and going to bed for a few hours in t’e morning.”

   I shook my head with a baffled huff of amusement. “Of course that’d be the reason. What book you reading Nogla?”

   “The same one he's been reading for the past month.” Lui quipped, seemingly annoyed.

   “Oh quit yer bitchin’.” Nogla retorted, shifting his wings as he turned towards the shapeshifter.

   Lui let out a baffled cry in response and, without hesitation, smacked Nogla on the back of the head.

   “Damn it Nogla! I had the perfect section that I was looking at! Why’d you move?” Lui grabbed the end of the large appendage in front of him and pulled it towards him. The muscles of the wing flexed under the feathers as Nogla instinctively flinched away. “Quit moving!”

   “I'm tryin’ ta but it's kinda hard when yer yanking it around like that!” Nogla countered.

   I chuckled as the wing came to a stop. Lui repositioned it into a similar spot to where he had had it before with a grunpy huff. Once the appendage was where he wanted it, Lui began leafing through the feathers with surprising gentleness. His fingers pressed lightly, commanding the feathers in different directions without forcing them to move when they could go no farther. The carefulness with which he treated the wing entranced me in a strange way as I watched.

   “What’re you trying ta look at anyway?” Nogla questioned, turning his head to look at Lui again, careful not to move the rest of his body.

   Lui frowned as he searched for something that I couldn’t see. “I was looking through to the feathers that cover your skin. I wanted to get my hands on some information about them and I had a perfect spot where I was looking at them next to a small scar somewhere, but now I can’t find it.”

   Nogla tilted his head with a confused look. “Are they that important?”

   Lui shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

   “Why do you need to know about them then?” I asked, equally as perplexed as Nogla. Lui sighed and straightened a little to look at us.

   “Well, see, a shifter like myself can manipulate the mass of their body in any way, shape, or form- despite a few limitations. However, that means our molecules are always bent out of shape if we aren't in our original form. If we mess up a transformation, it could end with torn muscles or busted ribs. That's why we aren't supposed to learn more than a few forms.

   "I want to figure out how to replicate Nogla’s wings but, in order to do that, I’d have to either expand my cells to a point that I've never drawn them to, which could potentially rip me apart if I don’t do it right, or I could try to gather extra mass to attach to myself. If I go with the extra mass, I’d have to keep it stored somewhere, which is difficult, but that's besides the point. I have to know every miniscule detail about the wings if I don't want them to appear as some mutilated version of what I meant to create or destroy me in the process.”

   “That sounds... complicated.” I remarked.

   “And confusing.” Nogla added.

   Lui shook his head and refocused his attention to his previous task.

   “That's what I said.”

   I smiled at the comment as the two continued as they were when I had entered the room. For a while, I sat, watching Lui continue with his observations. Every once in a while, the shifter would squint down at something before jauting down little notes.

   So far as I knew, Lui had been extremely invested in Nogla’s wings, and later Nogla himself, way before we had met either of them. After Moo and Evan met, they eventually found me to add to the group. Therefore, I was there when Evan finally found Lui and I remember vividly the time that Lui took us to _Eufanha_ to meet Nogla and Brian. Evan never intended to allow any of the three of them to join our pack but, after proving themselves worthy over and over again, Evan claimed them as well.

   Lui traveled to many places before we met him and he knew tons of people all around the world. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he knew Nogla and Brian then. The two had been tucked deep into the woods of an island off of Eufanha’s coast, shrouded from the eyes of the outer world and protected by millions of interwoven spells, most of which were inadvertently created by Nogla’s hands.

   From the first moment that I saw Lui and Nogla interact, I knew there was history behind them. Back then, Lui’s eyes had shined intensely at the prospect of Nogla coming with us. After all, it meant that he could study Nogla’s wings more freely without being separated by an entire ocean.

   Since then, however, that fascinated glow seemed to have dimmed ever so slightly. It was as if Lui’s interest had been overshadowed by the weight of what he was doing. Nowadays, the shapeshifter’s shoulders remained hunched over in constant thought like a dedicated scholar whose entire life’s work had curled him into a ball of his former self.

   In actuality, Lui really was a scholar of sorts. He worked hard on studying as many animals and demons as possible. Some days, I would find him out in the forest somewhere, pushing his shifting abilities to the limits and pressing harder to become better at everything. No matter what, the man was actively trying to achieve some higher goal of which I was not sure of.

   “What are you up to today Mini?” Lui suddenly asked, casting a side glance over at me.

   I shrugged. “Nothing really. I think it’s one of those mornings though where you regret going to bed at 4am and waking up at 7. It’s always a fun idea at the time and then it happens and then it hits you and you wanna die.”

   “Fookin’ same.” Nogla remarked.

   “The fuck are you talking about Nogla? You haven’t even slept yet.” I quipped.

   “Exactly my point.” The winged demon responded naturally. I shook my head with a chuckle.

   Nogla glanced over his shoulder to flash a smile at me. Just as he turned to face away again, his eye seemed to catch on one of the muffins I had brought in. I looked over to where I had set them down on the arm of the couch, aware of Nogla now eyeing them. I chuckled when I realized that he was trying extra hard not to move because of Lui.

   “Do you want a muffin Nogla?” I asked, holding one out to him in the palm of my hand.

   Nogla turned his head and grinned. Seeming to forget Lui in his excitement, the demon twisted to grab it, his wing coming completely off of the couch, leaving Lui in sheer bafflement once more. Except, this time, the shifter just kinda sat there, staring up at the wing with a blank expression, his mouth hanging open.

   Nogla realized what he did as he turned back with his muffin in hand. Slowly, his head lifted to look at Lui. The apologetic look he gave the shapeshifter was so innocent that I had to resist the urge to coo at him.

   Slowly, Lui’s hands came back down to rest in his lap, his face still void of thought. I had to hold back my laugh as I realized what would happen next.

   As expected, Lui suddenly lunged forward, careful not to hurt Nogla’s wing, and wrapped a tan arm around the demon’s neck. Quickly, he tightened it and fell sideways as he pulled Nogla back against him with a low growl. The tall demon struggled for a moment, scrambling to get the arm off of him. However, when it became apparent that Lui had the jump on him, he tapped the arm around his neck and the shapeshifter let go.

   “Fuckin’ asshole.” Lui muttered as he sat up again, even though I could see a triumphant smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

   Nogla made a few genuine coughs before exaggerating them more and clutching his chest dramatically. At the height of his act, he slowly leaned over and pretended to faint, his wings flailing awkwardly as they tried to follow suit.

   I couldn't help but laugh as he laid himself out flat on the ground, heaving a sigh as if it was his last breath. Lui simply kicked the feet of the newly deceased demon. When Nogla didn’t respond, Lui tapped his foot against the demon’s side again. This time, Nogla groaned quietly.

   “I'm dead.” The demon muttered.

   “You ain't dead yet. Get your butt up.” Lui remarked.

   I chuckled as Lui leaned forward over the demon. With one hand, he motioned for me to watch out. Immediately, I got up, grabbed my remaining muffin, and hopped over the back of the couch.

   Once I was out of the way, Lui reached down just as Nogla’s wings twitched, signifying that he knew something was up. I peeked over the back of the couch to see what Lui was doing. The shifter grinned and, with one precise motion, he jabbed a finger into the muscle at what seemed to be the base of Nogla’s wings.

   The demon yelped, his wings flailing to smack his attacker in the face just as Lui poked the base of the other wing. I ducked behind the couch and watched as Nogla’s wings came striking out above my head. Then, with one sweeping motion, the air surged and, when I lifted my head over the couch again, I saw that, somehow, Lui was now pinned to the cushions, completely covered by one gigantic wing. Only his arms could be seen sticking out from behind the feathers.

   Nogla glared down at the shifter with a triumphant grin that just seconds ago had belonged to Lui. I laughed as Lui struggled to get the wing off of him but to no avail.

   “Alright! You win!” His muffled voice shouted.

   Nogla leaned down and removed his wing far enough for Lui to appear, the shifter glaring at him as the feathers tickled his nose.

   “What's the magic word?”

   Lui let out a growl and struggled for a moment more before unleashing a frustrated sigh.

   “Please.”

   Nogla smiled and took his wing away.

   “T’ere. Was that so hard?”

   Lui glared at the demon before rolling his eyes and straightening in his spot on the couch, his dignity obviously just as ruffled as his clothes and hair.

   I chuckled as I came to sit down in the spot I'd been sitting in before. While Nogla tried to smooth out some of his feathers, I glanced over to see Lui sitting in the same spot as before, looking sort of sullen. I smiled and glanced down at my last muffin, still in my hands.

   “Would you like a muffin Lui? As recompense for this oaf over here?” I offered, holding out my last muffin to the shapeshifter. Lui hesitated before returning the smile.

   “Why yes. I would.” He responded as he reached out to take the small treat from my hand.

   I chuckled as he took it and began looking it over while Nogla stretched for a moment.

   Lui watched the movements out of the corner of his eye as he unwrapped his muffin and began eating it. I followed his gaze to Nogla’s wings as they extended far out from his body, each one measuring out to be about twice as long as him at full length, which was baffling considering how tall Nogla was. The tip of one wing, while he stood in the middle of the room, almost touched the wall on the other side of the room. If he were to spread both of them out, they would take up almost the whole length of the room we sat in. He didn't stretch them at the same time though, which was mildly disappointing. Lui seemed to think so as well for he let out a quiet huff.

   “Would you two stop ogling me like a catty stripper?” Nogla muttered, turning to glare at us. “To yer guys’ standards, staring at my wings like t’at is like staring at my breasts, if I even had any.”

   I chuckled and rolled my eyes while Lui simply shook his head and looked away.

   “Well since both of you stole my food, I'm gonna find some more and watch some TV.” I remarked.

   “Hey. You gave ‘em to us.” Nogla responded as I got up and headed for the door.

   “And don't you forget that.” I waved over my shoulder before heading into the kitchen, taking a one track path to the refrigerator.

   As I rummaged through the fridge, a familiar scent rose up to greet me. I finished fetching two more muffins before turning to acknowledge the new presence.

   A smile crept across my lips as I recognized Evan sitting at the dining table along the back wall of the kitchen, a bagel in his hands and a blank, zoned out expression on his face. He continued munching on his food as I approached him and slipped into a seat next to him. He didn’t seem to notice me at all as I sat there and I soon realized that he was probably trapped in his head again.

   Everyone in the pack knew that Evan was well-acquainted with his subgender counterpart, unlike me. Sometimes, the alpha would space out for hours on end, no longer conscious of what happened around him unless it threatened him. I remember how unsettling it had been to see him like this during our first few months of traveling together but Moo had always assured me that it was natural.

   So, with this in mind, I started eating one of my muffins while I waited for the alpha to rise again. Surprisingly, he continued eating throughout his dazed state, as if he was on autopilot. It was only when the bagel in his hands was almost gone that the alpha seemed to come back to reality. He gazed at his food for a second before slowly turning to look at me.

   For a moment, his chocolate brown eyes met mine. In that moment, I saw a tsunami of raw, unadulterated emotions, all of which shown in his eyes with a unique sort of clarity. Anger, annoyance, fear, concern, anxiety, and some other emotion that I couldn't quite explain swam through my vision, each one hypnotizing in their own sense. I felt the air in my chest clog between my ribs as these emotions pressed down on me. Then, as if a curtain had swung shut over his conscience, Evan’s eyes became murky to the point where, I could see that there was conflict behind the obstruction but I couldn't exactly tell what it was anymore.

   “Mornin’ Mini.” The alpha murmured, his voice calm despite what I had just seen as he reached down to grab his coffee mug off the table.

   “Morning.” That was the only word that I could form while my brain raced around, trying to figure out what all those emotions meant.

   “What are you up to today?’’ Evan asked nonchalantly, taking a small, savoring bite of his bagel.

   I shook off my slight lapse of apprehension and sighed.

   “Ya know, Lui just asked me the same question.”

   Evan hummed as he wrapped his hands around his cup. I watched in silence, a sense of uneasiness in my chest, as the hot chocolate within slowly began bubbling.

   Most everyone knew of Evan’s uniqueness when it came to certain aspects of his personage. Some of these anomalies included the alpha’s resistance to heat and the ability to heat things up, the latter of which was a more recent discovery for the pack. Whenever situations arose where Evan used these abilities, I found that I became mildly uncomfortable. I frowned as I remembered the time that Evan accidentally leaned on the stove top while it was on and came away unscathed, more annoyed at his skin itching than hurt by the heat itself.

   “And what did you tell him?” The alpha asked quietly, his eyes half-lidded as he carefully blew on his freshly heated hot chocolate.

   I shrugged, pushing away my uncertainties about the shapeshifter next to me. “I just said that I had a long night and I don't plan on doing anything today.”

   Evan nodded and tried to take a sip of his cocoa only for his face to contort into a grimace as the liquid burned his mouth. I winced as I reminded myself that it had probably done was make his mouth itch.

   “What was Lui up to?” The alpha suddenly asked, glancing sideways at me, the liveliness that I was used to seeing slowly coming back to his eyes. I buried any questions I had about him in favor of jist relaxing.

   “Him and Nogla were in the gaming room.” I responded as my momentary unease faded.

   “Let me guess. Lui was checking his wings out again.” Evan commented with a smug grin.

   I smiled a little. “Yeah. Or at least he was trying to but Nogla kept moving. Eventually, they just kinda brawled it out.”

   Evan smiled lightly, an expression of bittersweet happiness crossing his face. “That’s good. Lui needs the stress reliever.”

   I nodded and took a drink of my glass of milk.

   “What are _you_ up to today?” I asked the alpha.

   Evan grimaced, and, for a moment, I couldn't tell if he burned his tongue again or if he didn't like my question. The alpha set his mug down and rubbed his hands over his face.

   “Well.” He started. “I have to deal with the packs and rogues outside of the territory all day today. So, eventful but tiring. That’s how my day’s going to go.”

   I hummed lightly, remembering the minor situation with the rogue we discovered traveling through our territory yesterday. It had been part of the reason I couldn't sleep last night.

   I hadn’t gone out on any of the patrols yesterday, but I knew from what Scotty told me when he returned that it was not good. The scent had even clinged to the panther's fur when he came back and it hadn’t been pleasant in the least. According to the patrols, the rogue didn’t come back last night. Vaguely, I wondered if Evan had sent out more people to check this morning.

   Some deep instinct in me knew that everything was going to go horribly wrong soon but I didn’t know at the time if the feeling was directed towards the rogue or to Tyler and I.

   A part of me sympathized with Evan when it came to the day's task though. The alpha wasn't exactly the social type when talking to anyone outside of the people he knew. Sure, he knew the other leaders of the groups surrounding us. However, I knew he felt uncomfortable going out into the political sphere, which generally included any situation where he contacted other groups.

   I reached over and patted Evan’s muscular shoulder in a comforting gesture.

   “That sounds terrible.”

   Evan scoffed. “You’re telling me.”

   I glanced out of one of the kitchen windows to the dimly lit world outside. Up until this point, I had accredited the lighting to the fact that it was still early in the morning. Now, I realized that dark clouds hung over the horizon outside. I frowned and turned back to Evan with an apologetic expression.

   “Seems like it's gonna rain as well.” I commented quietly.

   Evan turned so fast in his seat to look out the window that I could have sworn he broke his back.

   “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” He groaned. I giggled a little at the tone of his voice. “Ugh. This gonna suck.” The alpha growled before sighing and getting up out of his seat.

   I smiled and followed him to the sink where we both rinsed and deposited our cups.

   “Well I hope it won't be too bad for your sake.” I commented softly.

   Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the upturn of Evan’s lips just before he turned to step around me to the fridge. The alpha sorted through several bowls of left overs before taking out materials for a sandwich and throwing them in a bag that was lying on the counter.

   I smiled as the alpha paused and tilted his head thoughtfully.

   “I feel like I'm forgetting something.” He muttered, mostly to himself.

   Then, as if a light bulb had gone off in his head, he turned to me with an embarrassed look and rubbed the back of his head. I raised an eyebrow at him.

   “Right. Of course.”

   Evan shyly stretched out his arms toward me with a nervous look in his eyes. I chuckled as I remembered our leader’s deal to hug the first person he saw in the morning. Sighing, I spread my arms out and stepped forward to hug the alpha. His strong arms embraced me full force, no ounce of hesitation in the action despite the expression on his face just seconds before.

   Surprised, it took me a moment to respond in kind and, even then, I couldn't match the strength that Evan hugged me with. At that point, I got the distinct impression that there was more on the alpha’s mind then he was letting on. He practically clung to me, his face buried in my shoulder. I couldn't help but smile despite myself at the display of affection.

   Then, with some satisfied grunt, the alpha let go and patted my shoulder without making eye contact. With quick, precise steps, he grabbed the bag he had packed off the counter and headed for the door.

   I followed him quietly and watched as he slipped on his shoes and a jacket. Once he had everything, he straightened and patted his sides before looking up at me with a reassuring, if embarrassed, smile and turning towards the door.

   “See ya later Ev.” I called out to him softly as he opened the door. The alpha paused before turning over his shoulder, giving me an adorable smile, and heading out the door, making sure to close it behind him.

   With that, I went back up to my room with my last muffin and turned on the TV before sitting on the edge of my bed. I flipped through the same few channels for a while until I finally settled on a show to watch. Unfortunately, it didn’t keep my attention for very long. Eventually, I gave up on trying to focus on it, instead opting to scroll through the latest news feed of the world around me on my phone.

   For a while, I laid on my bed scrolling through several articles, briefly skimming through a few before moving on. The entire time, I sat in silence, eating my muffin with nothing but empty, half acknowledged thoughts. Therefore, it was no surprise that I didn’t notice when a shadowy figure silently entered my room and leaned against the wall of my closet.

   At some point, I glimpsed the person out of the corner of my eye. Initially, it scared the crap out of me but that fear was replaced by a peculiar sort of disquietude when I recognized that it was Tyler, the tall tiger standing with a slight scowl on his handsome face. I sighed and sat up without facing him.

   “So, are we gonna talk about this instead of avoiding each other like yesterday?” Tyler muttered as he came closer to the foot of my bed with his arms folded.

   I shrugged and turned my head away petulantly. “I didn't think there was anything to talk about. You have your opinions and I have mine.”

   From the corner of my eye, I saw the tiger's eyes narrow dangerously. “Yeah, we do have differing opinions. So, what should we do about them?”

   I shook my head and got up to turn off my TV, which now seemed unusually loud in my ears. “I have no idea. Maybe just ignore them and go on with our lives.”

   “Craig.” Tyler warned, his voice lowering an octave.

   “Don’t Craig me.” I growled, turning on the tiger whose stance had now changed so that his hands were by his sides, clenched into fists. “I don’t agree with your opinion and you don’t agree with mine. What more is there to talk about?”

   Wildcat pursed his lips and glared down at me. I met his gaze for a moment before faltering.

   “Plus, I don’t want to talk about this right now.” I told him, my body shrinking at the idea of enduring more pain from another fight. The last one, the night before last, had left me shaking. Ironically, that fight had been about the same subject that Tyler and I were now referencing.

   “Really? You're gonna be like that? Ya know what? I don't need this.” Tyler growled, glowering at me before turning and leaving the room.

   I stood in the middle of my room as he left, my skin crawling with the creeping urge to apologize for being so petty. However, the rest of my body remained immobile against the instinct. For a moment, I was torn between the decision of living with the constant pain I had been suffering and the need to put aside our differences just so I could be close to Tyler.

   Over the last two weeks, Tyler and I had fallen apart even further than before. I was convinced this was because Tyler hadn't been constrictive of his tiger after imprisoning him for two days the last time he got stuck. In the past fee weeks, I could see in his heart that he was losing hope. To him, it was becoming inevitable that we would give in to becoming mates, or we would die, tormented, miserable, and afraid of the consequences otherwise.

   Two nights ago, he suggested that we leave the pack. He wanted to renounce Evan’s claims on us, as well as his friendship, in order to be together. My reaction was not at all calm or collected and part of me felt bad for that. However, I also knew that the tiger in Tyler's mind was getting to him. I was no different.

   Even to me, the suggestion had sounded profoundly enticing. The way Tyler said it made it sound so simple and easy to do, but even now I could feel the influence of the leopard in my thoughts.

   The beta half of me had switched up its tactics lately. Instead of attacking me directly and/or physically, it was now sneaking in its own thoughts amongst mine. The other night, the leopard had been ecstatic that Tyler was thinking of us and that he was so dedicated that he'd be willing to give up all of our friends and everything we'd built for the past 6 years to be with us. However, to me, the idea was appalling to say the least.

   I rubbed my hands over my face roughly. Some dark part of me was beginning to agree with Tyler about doing anything it took to be together, if only because the agony which was caused by our separation tortured not only my mind but my body as well. I physically ached to be around Tyler. Recently though, I couldn't stand being near him knowing that I couldn't have what both of us wanted the most.

   The issue was haunting to say the least. As the days went by, I became increasingly terrified of what would happen if we couldn’t deal with this in a healthy way and the hope that we could find an escape from our torment dwindled as this fear grew stronger.

   Groaning, I stood and followed Tyler’s alpha aroma downstairs. As soon as I turned the corner to the stairs, I spotted Lui standing at the bottom, looking down to the basement, pensive and confused. He turned to look at me as I came down towards him.

   “What was that about?” He murmured as I reached his side.

   “It’s just another argument.” I tried and failed to reassure the shapeshifter. Lui squinted at me.

   “Is this about whatever you and John were talking about the other day?”

   I tensed. That day, two weeks ago, I almost died from a heart attack when Lui had appeared before the pack as the brown and white-flecked bird that had been watching John and I in the woods. The fear that our secret had been discovered and that Lui had told Evan was horrifying in more ways than one. The alarm caused by that paranoia had only increased tenfold when Evan pulled me aside to talk about the situation between Tyler and I.

   Luckily, Lui assured me that he didn’t know much and that he hadn’t told Evan about what little he did know. The fear that he would slip up and tell someone what he heard remained though.

   For a moment, I contemplated lying and telling the shapeshifter that the fight was about something else. However, if there was anyone who could sniff out a lie, it would be Lui. So, with a deep breath, I tried to relax a little before responding to the question.

   “Yes, but we have it under control.”

   Lui watched my expression with intense skepticism. After a minute, I was certain that he knew everything wasn’t as good as I tried to tell him it was. Neither Tyler nor I had this under control and the shifter in front of me knew it. He didn’t comment on it though. Instead, he laid a hand on my shoulder, giving me his silent support, before turning and heading back into the gaming room.

   I sighed and steeled myself for a confrontation of epic proportions. Tyler was right. We needed to talk about this. With that thought in mind, I headed down to the basement.

   As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Tyler standing in the middle of the room, on the other side of the couch, illuminated by a dim light. Glancing around, I noted that the lighting was due to the fact that no lights were on and the dark clouds from earlier had only grown heavier over the treetops outside of the windows along the hallway further to the right.

 _How fitting_. I thought to myself as I approached the tiger in the middle of the room.

   “Are we gonna talk without ripping each other's heads off?” Tyler remarked as he turned to face me with a scowl still set in his face, his bright azure eyes glowing in the darkness of the morning. I let his statement saturate the calm air for a moment before responding.

   “What do you expect me to say Tyler?” I asked.

   The tiger frowned. “I don’t expect you to say anything. The least you could do is hear me out though.”

   “I did hear you out and I didn't like what you had to say.” I responded, folding my arms defensively.

   “So, you're not going to listen? Even for a second?” Tyler growled. I shook my head even as the leopard in me tried to force me into submitting to the angry alpha.

   “I did listen. I listened the other night and I don't want to hear any more of it. What else did you expect me to say in this situation?”

   The scowl in Tyler’s face only deepened, his eyes glowing more intensely.

   “We shouldn't be fighting.”

   I glared at the tiger. “You started it.”

   “The least you could do is talk me through why it's so absurd to you that we leave.” Tyler snapped.

   “Because it's not you talking.” I bit back. Tyler shook his head.

   “It is me talking. I have my reasoning.”

   “I've listened to your reasoning.”

   “No you haven’t!” Tyler shouted, his voice rising.

   “Yes I have! What else do you want me to do besides listen to you complain? Should I just agree with you without question?” I hissed, not caring in that moment that I was being a little childish. My body began shaking at that point, it's way of rebelling against the fight. Still, I held my ground.

   “I still have my opinion Tyler and my own morals to abide by. So, what do you suggest we do? What reasoning have I not heard?”

   “I’ve thought of a compromise since we last talked.” Tyler growled wearily, his voice lowering.

   “How am I supposed to compromise with you when what you want to do is leave the pack?” I snarled, my temper getting the best of me. Tyler grimaced, a low growl rising from his chest.

   “I never said we should leave the pack.” He replied, the demon in him tainting the outer edges of his irises electric blue. “I said that we should revoke Evan’s claims and move out.”

   “Which is the same as leaving!” I argued, throwing my hands in the air.

   “No it isn’t! We could still remain in contact but we wouldn’t have to deal with this whole rule about us not being mates.”

   I felt my face involuntarily slacken at his words, the same as it had when he suggested this the other night. The prospect of being mates with someone is such an alluring thing to a subgender, therefore it sounded so nice to briefly be assured that there could be an easy solution to our problem. However, I also recognized that these weren’t my own thoughts. They were the thoughts of the animal in me.

   “We could leave and we could live our lives together. We wouldn’t have to let go of our friendships here but we could still be happy. Don’t you want that?” Tyler continued, his eyes glowing with hope as he reached out to put his hands on my shoulders.

   “That’s your subcounter talking Tyler!” I snapped, pulling away from him abruptly.

   “No it’s not. You have no right to say that.” The tiger in front of me bristled.

   “Yes. It is. You haven’t been nearly as strict as you should be with it lately.” I bit back.

   “And why should I restrict him?” Tyler shouted, his voice rising in volume. I tried to shush him quickly but it was already too late. The nerve had been struck.

   “Why should I lock him up? Why should he have to suffer for something that is simply instinct to him? Nobody is ever punished for killing and eating their prey and that’s because they _need_ it. It’s the same with him! He’s not an animal or some mindless beast that needs to be caged at every moment of every day! He deserves to have freedom. I deserve to have freedom. You deserve to have freedom! I told you that we should leave because I’m looking out for our safety! Why don’t you understand that?”

   “I do understand it Tyler.” I replied, lowering my voice. “I don’t have a problem with that. I have a problem with the fact that you seem so heartset on ‘escaping’ from the others when they aren’t even the ones at fault for our problem.”

   Tyler scowled, his gaze darkening. In those beautiful blue eyes of his, I saw the animal in him awaken even more to infect the edges of his conscience. I instinctively widened my stance and prepared myself for the fight that that indicated. “They _are_ partially at fault and you know it... especially Evan. _I_ would’ve done so much better.”

   Without hesitation, I stepped forward to bare my fangs at Tyler, rising to the challenge that the tiger gave me through the animal in his eyes. “Did you seriously just say that?”

   A flicker of the human that I so loved came back to chase away the animal as Tyler took a step back in the face of my wrath. I, however, followed in his wake. With one deft, careful hand, I reached up to grab the neck of the blue tee he wore that morning and pulled the tiger down to my height.

   “Did you seriously just say that? Evan is at fault now? He helped _you_ most of all when you needed it. He’s helped all of us in more ways than one.”

   Tyler leaned away and reached up to cover my hand with his. “I know that.”

   “Well you don’t fucking act like it.” I snarled.

   Tyler had just opened his mouth to respond when his scent spiked and his attention snapped up to look at something behind me, his eyes once again returning to that disheartening electric blue color. Turning, I spotted Marcel standing at the bottom of the stairs, his sharp fangs bared and his eyes glowing a frightening orange color. Horrifyingly enough, his eyes weren't fixed on me. Instead, they stared over my shoulder at Tyler who was glaring right back at him.

   “Boys.” I called, letting go of the shirt in my grasp and placing a hand on Tyler’s chest while keeping my eyes focused on Marcel.

   My beta instincts kicked in immediately and I suddenly regretted fighting with Tyler in the house. Of course my distress would attract the attention of the only other alpha. It was Marcel’s instinct to protect me but it was Tyler’s as well. At that moment, I knew they both saw each other as threats.

   In Marcel’s eyes, there was another alpha towering over his pack's beta and, in Tyler’s eyes, there was another alpha that threatened the balance between us. Both had their reasons to be angry at the other. I was reminded for the first time in a while the danger in having several alphas in one pack. The tension in the air was palpable as the two alphas continued glaring at each other.

   “Boys.” I repeated, hardening my voice. Still, they didn’t pay attention.

   Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a narrow feline face poke its way out of the entrance to the hallway. I recognized the face of a mountain lion, the white and black designs under his eyes distinct and shining with familiarity.

   Another sort of protective ferocity took over me as I realized that it was Panda in his animal form. Somewhere in my mind, I recognized that Panda had probably heard everything that Tyler and I were just fighting about, meaning that, once again, I had unintentionally let part of our secret slip.

   I didn't know how much he heard or understood. Panda still had troubles understanding human speech in his animal form. Still, he didn't do well with fights and, most likely, he had probably curled up in one of the back rooms and cowered down in the hopes that we would leave soon so he could escape.

   Berating myself for the clumsiness of this whole situation, I took a deep breath and straightened to look Tyler in the eyes. Of course, he didn’t look at me. As a familiar heat surged through my arms though, I pressed my hand into his chest, a haziness encompassing my conscience as I sank into full beta mode. My hand increased in heat while the pheromones I gave off grew stronger and, after a moment, Tyler’s eyes flickered ever so slightly in recognition.

   “Stay.” I hissed. The alpha’s expression dropped and he seemed to freeze in place.

   With a determined growl, I turned and walked over to Marcel, aware of Panda’s cautious eyes following my every step. As I approached the alpha, his gaze wavered and slowly started dropping down to meet my eyes. I stared him down without blinking as I came up to him and placed a hand on his chest as well. The alpha let me, but his eyes became wide with trepidation.

   “Calm.” I ordered him, letting the heat of my body power my words.

   After a moment, Marcel nodded and took a deep breath, his eyes slowly fading back to their original brown hue. Once I was sure he was somewhat stable, I turned back to Tyler. The alpha had dropped his gaze somewhere in the past minute and, even as I walked forward to stand directly in between the two alphas, he didn't look at me.

   “Tyler.” I called to him. Tyler sat, looking down at his feet sullenly before glancing up at me.

   “I’m good.” He responded.

   Turning back to Marcel, I gave him a questioning look. He glanced up at me before averting his eyes, an angry expression on his face. His gaze drifted sideways to look at Panda, who was creeping closer to the stairs and looking for a way to get past us without drawing too much attention to himself.

   “I came down to check on Anthony and overheard you guys. I let myself out of control for a moment and, for that, I apologize.” The tiger muttered.

   I frowned as a slight flicker of the demon in him flashed through his eyes. Marcel’s lips lifted slightly before he looked back up at Tyler and then down at me.

   “But next time, I suggest taking it outside or just not fighting at all.” The tiger growled, his hand reaching out to stop the mountain lion who was trying to sneak past us.

   The large cat paused to look at Marcel with a hint of fear. He stayed for a moment while Marcel turned on his heel and stormed back upstairs, calling for Scotty on the way. A part of me knew the tiger was simply angry with himself for losing control and he was mad that Tyler and I made Jiggly uncomfortable. That didn’t stop the flash of guilt that seared through my body as the adrenaline faded though, making my knees buckle. Only then did I wish Evan was still in the area.

   The mountain lion on the steps gazed at me with soft brown eyes and, after a moment, he crept up to me and pressed his head into my hand. I smiled down forlornly at the feline and gazed into his eyes.

   Somewhere in that gaze, I knew Anthony was trying to comfort me. I scratched under the animal’s chin with an understanding nod to which the lion replied with a slight huff as he turned to follow Marcel. Panda’s tail wrapped around my legs when he passed. Then, I was left with nothing but me and Tyler, standing at opposite ends of the room, our positions representing the greatest symbol of alienation.

   Slowly, I felt my body growing weak and my legs crumbling as the toll of using my beta abilities pressed me into the ground. With a harsh sigh, I half stumbled to the couch and sat down, leaning back as my vision swam before me.

   Tyler rushed forward protectively only to stop right in front of me, worry permeating the air around us to replace the stench of angry alphas.

   “I can’t do this. I can’t do this anymore.” I muttered, my mind reeling with the after affects of using my beta abilities.

   “Mini.” Tyler tried to come closer to me but I shrunk from his touch.

   The leopard hissed at me as it scrambled for the controls. I caught it just before it could reach the panel and held it back, hot tears crowding my eyes as the weight of what just happened forced the breath out of my lungs.

   Before I could resist, Tyler crawled onto the couch next to me and pulled me into his lap, his long arms coming up around me to hold my shaking form closer to him. Immediately, I curled into him, my mind blanking in the face of Tyler’s warmth. In my mind’s eye, the leopard and I just sort of went limp, both of us too exhausted and in too much pain to do anything else.

   Tyler’s hands on my back told me that he had done the same. It sounded as if we were both holding our breath, too scared to let the moment pass. The moment we breathed would be the moment that everything continued moving around us and that was something neither of us wanted.

   Before long, we had no choice but to continue though, both of us releasing deep sighs at the same exact time. I shivered as the moment passed and, just like I feared, the world raced on.

   Tyler’s long fingers gently pressed into my back as we sat there, clinging to each other as if our lives depended on it- which I guess in some ways it did. Between the stress and exhaustion of what little had happened in just the last hour, I understood once again the direness of the situation. Our choices were either to stay away from each other or we could finally go to drastic measures and be together. No matter what we did though, we were bound to be continually destroyed until we lost something important, whether it was the company of the pack or our sanity. I wasn't sure which I’d prefer losing at that point.

   “I'm sorry Craig.” Tyler spoke up, leaning in to bury his face in my shoulder. “I shouldn't have said that about Evan. I appreciate everything he has done for us but right now he is causing so much pain and it’s ridiculous. We'll die at this rate.”

   I frowned and pulled away from the tiger. “I know. But would you rather we destroy everything we've known for the last 6 years and be homeless, cast out from this house and too afraid to live with the humans, or stay with the pack and figure something out? Either way, we're screwed.”

   Tyler’s eyes rose to meet mine. I reached up to touch his face gently.

   “I understand the need for safety. I understand the gravity of our predicament. But we have difficulties either way, no matter what choice we make.”

   The tiger hummed softly beneath me before averting his eyes. “So, you think the pack would cast us out if we revoked Evan’s claims?”

   I nodded. “Yeah. Even _I_ would feel uncomfortable in Evan’s shoes if we did break away from him and stayed in the same house. Not only that, but two alphas who rule separately _and_ who have claims on different people living under the same roof is bound to cause issues. There's also the possibility of Marcel becoming unbalanced and aggressive because the competition will have dwindled if you left. I'm not saying it’s for certain that that would happen but it's a possibility, especially if _I_ leave. Once I'm gone, the responsibility for the pack’s balance would come down to Moo alone. That's why I just… I don't like the idea of leaving. There would be too many complications. We would probably have to give up a lot of the friendships that we’ve built with the guys.”

   Tyler listened with attentiveness as I gave him my reasoning. Once I finished, he nodded quietly and looked down ever so slightly.

   “I see that… I guess I didn't really think of any of that.” The tiger murmured softly. I hummed quietly. 

   “All that makes sense though. Which means it's kind of a good thing that I came up with a compromise.” Tyler responded with an uncertain expression. I frowned. The tiger lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “I listened to you. So, please. Just hear me out.”

   I sighed and made a motion for Tyler to continue, too tired to try arguing again.

   “I know, I’m a little out of control but he has a point.”

   “Who has a point?” I questioned uneasily.

   Tyler hesitated before pointing to his head. “The tiger.”

   I let out an involuntary growl to which Tyler shook his head and grabbed my hand to hold.

   “Stay with me, alright? If it sounds dumb afterwards then you can be mad all you want.”

   I pursed my lips before leaning down to curl up against the tiger again as he continued.

   “What if we just moved out to one of the cabins? Ya know, the ones that are used for _Bavsha_?”

   Around the territory, there were three cabins that were only used for the times of the year where any of the subgendered members went into heats and ruts. The one in the eastern section of the territory was dedicated to Marcel while the one on the northern border was made for Moo and, by extension, Brian. Tyler and I had claimed the southernmost cabin when it was built.

   In the three years that we had lived in the territory, Evan had only gone through a few ruts and yet they had been terrifying beyond belief. The alpha was astoundingly powerful and uncontrollable during _Bavsha_ so he no longer spent them in the territory, meaning that none of the cabins were made for him. It had been agreed upon a while ago that he’d probably destroy the house anyways. Nowadays, I wasn’t quite sure what he did for his ruts but I made a mental note to check in on that since his rut would be coming soon.

   I hummed thoughtfully and shifted to look up at Tyler. He looked down at me with a cautious expression.

   “I have my reasoning and it wouldn’t go against your morals either. Moving to another place while still being in the territory wouldn't be total isolation from the pack and we wouldn't have to revoke Evan’s claims on us, but it would allow us to escape for a while until we can get this figured out. Who knows? Maybe even being just a little distanced from everyone would help us at least delay the process.”

   I frowned at the tiger's words, not wanting to acknowledge that in any way, shape, or form was leaving the pack acceptable but I knew that there was truth in Tyler’s words.

   “What if... the separation amplifies it though?” I asked carefully. Tyler’s eyebrows scrunched together in thought. “Ya gotta admit that it could and it might make things worse.”

   “And _you_ have to admit that we at least have to try.” The tiger responded.

   I sighed and leaned my head against his chest once more as Tyler continued.

   “I know it’ll be hard and we have to think about it in detail, plus there’s the problem of getting Evan’s ‘blessings’ but we have to do something. We can’t keep living like this.”

   “I know.” I replied curtly, squeezing my eyes shut and taking in a deep breath.

   Tyler rubbed my back comfortingly and buried his nose in my hair.

   “We don’t have to act immediately though.” The alpha whispered. “We can keep thinking about it.”

   I nodded. With that, we both just sort of sunk into each other, basking in the other’s warmth. My body still ached from using my beta abilities and, for a moment, I wished Evan was home to replenish my strength. However, I recognized the fact that he was busy and that most of this pain was self inflicted.

   A beta’s strength comes from the power of their alpha. Recently though, I wasn’t as close to Evan as usual and it was rare that I ever needed my abilities. So, not only was I inexperienced, I was also way too distant to be using my skills. This wasn’t something that occurred to me until that day, the day that I broke up what almost became a fight between Marcel and Tyler. Vaguely, I wondered if Moo was in the same predicament.

   My train of thought was cut off when Tyler’s stomach began complaining loudly. I giggled and sat up to look at the embarrassed alpha with a raised eyebrow.

   “Someone’s hungry.” I commented smugly.

   Tyler rolled his eyes and gently pushed me off of him to get up. “Shut the fuck up alright.”

   I chuckled and followed the alpha as he headed up the stairs, towards the kitchen. “Whatever ya say Grumpy Belly.” Tyler glared half-heartedly at me over his shoulder.

   As we reached the top of the stairs, the faint aroma of cinnamon and honey dew met us, accompanied by an abrupt, yet embarrassed, squeal. I gave a surprised huff of laughter as we entered the kitchen.

   Trapped on the counter, enclosed by a pair of strong Eufanhan arms, sat Brock, Brian standing in front of him with a devilish smile. Tyler let out a short exclamation of surprise and turned his head away with a groan as he told the two to get a room. Brian lifted his head to look at us innocently, not seeming to realize the problem.

   “Brian! You dick!” Brock suddenly yelled, pushing the werecat away from him and jumping off the countertop.

   I chuckled as he shook himself and marched into the living room, his face beet red. Brian watched him go, his bottom lip stuck out dramatically as he watched his boyfriend walk away.

   “Man, you guys so just ruined the moment.” The werecat pouted, folding his arms with his eyes still focused on Moo.

   “Well, if you weren’t trying to get some in the middle of the kitchen, the moment wouldn’t have been ruined.” Tyler muttered as he walked to the fridge and began searching for something to eat. I followed him and watched over his shoulder as he pulled out different things to show me, silently rejecting the things that I didn’t want.

   Brian huffed. “I wasn't tryin ta ‘get some’. I was tryin’ ta get my food back and that dick over there wouldn’t let me have it.”

   I glanced over to where Moo sat on the couch, his back facing us. Without warning, Brian suddenly charged into the room and catapulted himself over the back of the chair that Moo was sitting on. Before he even touched the chair, Brock jumped up from his seat and spun to face his boyfriend. As he turned, I could see a spoon hanging out from his mouth and a bowl of cereal clutched carefully against his chest.

   Both werecats let out their own growls, the sound making me smile as Tyler and I got out our own food to heat up and eat. 

   After a tense moment, Brian lunged for his boyfriend, reaching out to grab him. He came up a little short as the other werecat twisted out of the way, leaving Brian face planting into the ground. I smiled as the fallen werecat sprung back up and rushed Brock, grabbing the bowl from his boyfriend, but not before the beta shoveled a huge spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

   I chuckled as Brock’s cheeks puffed out. With one sleeve, he wiped away some spilled milk on his chin, his lips releasing their contents as he tried to not to laugh when Brian glared at him.

   Off to my side, the microwave beeped as Tyler’s food finished warming up. I turned to him and handed him the bowl of leftovers that I had pulled out of the fridge.

   “You took like half my cereal!” Brian growled over his bowl as he scooped the flakes into his mouth, watching Brock out of the corner of his eye with an overprotective expression on his face.

   Brock shrugged and came into the kitchen to make his own bowl of cereal.

   “Sounds like a personal problem.”

   Brian rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch. Tyler wandered in to sit next to him and I followed shortly after, taking up a spot on the other side of the room since the couch those two occupied only fit two people. There were three couches in the living room and a recliner as well. The one Brian and Tyler claimed only fit two people while the one next to it sat three people and the one I sat on fit four people.

   After Brock finished making his food, he joined me on my couch. Just as everyone settled down, Brian suddenly looked up at the TV and let out a short exclamation, his mouth full of food. All of us gave him a questioning look as he swallowed what was in his mouth and waved a hand at us.

   “Wait, isn't there a movie you've been wanting to see Brock?” He asked.

   Moo tilted his head in thought, his eyes flashing, before nodding. “Yeah. I've been wanting to rewatch the first Avengers. I think it’s actually upstairs still.”

   A moment of silence passed upon us as Tyler and Brian looked at each other to see who would offer to grab it. Me, on the other hand, I continued watching Brock. The beta was too indifferent for it to be natural.

   “Who do you think could get it faster, me or Tyler?” Brian suddenly inquired, his eyes resting on me and a challenge rising in the way he smiled.

   “Tyler.” I responded easily. Said alpha grinned at my response.

   Brian glared at me playfully. “That’s an opinion if I ever heard one.”

   I shrugged. “Shouldn’t have asked me then.”

   The werecat pursed his lips before turning to his boyfriend.

   “Who do you think will win Brock?”

   Moo tilted his head before smiling and lifting his cup to his lips. He took a drink before responding.

   “Tyler.”

   Brian let out a baffled guffaw before glaring at the alpha next to him.

   “Alright, challenge accepted. First one to grab the movie from upstairs faster wins.”

   Tyler smirked and placed his food on the table next to the couch, leaning forward in his seat. Then, in one quick motion, the tall tiger stood and bolted out of the room.

   “Last place eats his boogers for a living!”

   “Cheater!” Brian yelled as he chased the tiger.

   As the two rushed out of the room and pushed their way upstairs, I turned to Brock. The other beta was grinning quietly to himself. I gave him a questioning look to which he simply chuckled and, seemingly from nowhere, produced the movie that the other two had been sent to grab from the cushions of the couch.

   I arched an eyebrow. “You sly devil you. You knew Brian would ask about that.”

   Brock simply smiled and shrugged. “Well, I wanted to get you alone to talk to you for a minute. The movie was sitting on the table, so I took advantage of it and hoped for the best.”

   My amusement slowly faded as I realized the reason that Moo would want to talk to me alone. I sighed and shifted to face the beta fully. He gazed at me quietly before placing a hand on my thigh.

   “What happened?”

   I averted my eyes and fiddled with my hands for a moment, my glasses sliding down my nose as I looked away.

   “We fought again.”

   Brock nodded. “I know that. What was it about?”

   I furrowed my eyebrows, not entirely sure if I should tell Moo what Tyler and I had discussed. However, the pressure of my decision seemed too much to bear alone.

   “Tyler wants to move out to the cabins. He thinks it’ll help us.” I said before I could think about it any further.

   There was a pause and, when I looked up at Brock, I saw nothing but kindness and understanding in his green eyes. His reaction couldn’t have been farther from what I expected.

   A part of me had already assumed that the suggestion to move out wouldn't be received very well when I brought it up to the pack. Moo’s expression told me differently though. The beta smiled and leaned forward to embrace me. I took in a deep breath, inhaling the cinnamon scent around me, and sighed, returning the hug in full.

   After a moment, the werecat pulled away and smiled at me.

   “Don’t take this personally, but I was actually kind of thinking the same thing.”

   I blinked at the beta in surprise. “You did?”

   Brock nodded. “It seems to be the only thing that would slow down your guys’ degeneration and it wouldn’t be a permanent fix, but it might help.”

   The beta in front of me took a deep breath and I could see a shiny film covering his eyes. When he spoke next, it was with a voice full of regret and a hint of sadness.

   “I know it was selfish, but I didn’t suggest it because I’m afraid that… that the move could either speed things up or you guys would lose touch with us. Then again, that was if you guys were to move into town. I guess the cabins would be better but…”

   I laid a hand on the werecat’s shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

   “That’s what I was afraid of too. But, Tyler and I talked it out and I think it _might_ be a good decision. We have to figure out the details still, but I don’t know. Maybe we should.”

   “Is that what you guys fought about?” Brock asked, clearing his throat lightly. I nodded reluctantly.

   “Yeah.”

   “I figured. I can still smell it on you.” The beta commented, his gaze pressing into mine. “But, considering you’re up here right now, I’m assuming you had it under control.”

   I scoffed and looked away, remembering the expression on Marcel’s face when he left.

   “I wouldn’t say that.”

   Brock frowned. “Why not?”

   I shrugged and glanced around the room, making sure that no one else was within earshot.

   “Well, it may or may not have gotten a little out of hand and Marcel may or may not have heard us. Panda too.”

   The beta in front of me tensed, his gaze darkening ever so slightly. “What happened with that?”

   I paused for a moment before responding.

   “I'm not sure if Panda understood us. Marcel though... Let’s just say that I almost had to put down what could have been a very violent altercation.”

   “That bad huh?” Brock commented, his eyes glazing over with worry.

   I shook my head. “Luckily, it didn’t come down to that. They both calmed down before it could go any further, but I think Marcel is still angry. You know how he gets when it comes to his alpha instincts.”

   Brock nodded slowly. “That explains a lot. I’ll have to check in on him when he gets back.”

   My attention and worry spiked at the werecat’s words. “What do you mean ‘when he gets back’?”

   Brock gave me an uncertain look, his eyes flickering with some encoded secret. “The trio went to Panlyog. Said they already had a trip planned but they decided to take it early.”

   I frowned. “Well, I hope they come back soon.”

   Moo nodded. “Me too.”

   I huffed a sigh just as Nogla came marching into the kitchen, his wings looking ruffled.

   “Jeez man, what happened to you?” I remarked. Nogla glared at me, his wings puffing out like a cat’s fur.

   “Your guys’ assholes almost ran me over!” The demon shouted. I smirked as Moo shook his head.

   “Sounds like a personal problem.” The werecat responded, amusement evident in his voice as Nogla poured himself a glass of water and came into the living room to join us.

   A commotion upstairs started up as Nogla settled into a seat across the room from us. After a moment, there came a bunch of shouting and a loud crash. Lui came down a minute afterwards with an indifferent expression on his face, a toothbrush in his mouth, and a white towel draped over his head. I knew better than to believe his nonchalance, especially as two pairs of heavy feet came stomping down the stairs.

   Tyler and Brian appeared a moment later, the shorter of the two straggling behind Tyler with a hand on his shoulder and a grimace on his face. Tyler was laughing silently as Lui simply watched them with a smirk, which was partially hidden by the towel on his head.

   “What happened now?” Brock asked as the two came into the living room.

   “We were trying to find the movie, but we literally ran into Lui on his way out of the bathroom so he just straight up judo flipped Brian.” Tyler informed us, awe and laughter evident in his voice and on his face.

   A devious laugh resounded from the short shapeshifter from across the room as he finished brushing his teeth and walked back into the kitchen to rinse out his mouth. Brian glared at him briefly as they passed each other before coming to sit down on the other side of Moo with a pout. Nogla looked at the werecat triumphantly, obviously satisfied.

   “Serves ya right fooker.”

   “Hey! It’s not our fault you were standing right in the middle of the hallway.” Tyler responded with a playful note to his voice. Brian chuckled somewhat breathlessly on the other side of Brock.

   “Ye guys are bullies.” Nogla muttered, folding his arms defensively.

   “They are kinda right though.” Lui remarked as he came back, dried his hair the rest of the way, and sat down next to Nogla, careful of the demon’s wings which hung loosely at his sides. Nogla turned to glare at him, lightly smacking the shapeshifter’s head with one of the wings that Lui had tried so hard to avoid.

   I smiled as Tyler walked over to Brock and held out his hand. The beta looked up at him innocently.

   “What?”

   Tyler shook his head and made a “give me” motion with his fingers. Moo sighed and pulled the movie he had hid out from behind his back and handed it to the alpha.

   “You had the movie this whole time!?” Brian shouted.

   Brock simply grinned and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly while Brian leaned as far away from him as possible. Tyler chuckled and walked over to put in the DVD.

   Soon, the previews began playing and Tyler took up a spot next to me. I smiled lightly as the alpha put his arm around me and gently pulled me closer to him.

   We had our differences- that much I was sure of- but I knew we could figure it out eventually. Part of me still sat uneasy and the leopard in my head paced around for the rest of the day, its mind going a million miles an hour. I ignored it though in favor of enjoying my time with my family.

   We spent most of the day as if nothing had gone wrong, watching movies and making fun of each other like usual. After a while, Tyler excused himself to take a shower upstairs. I curled up against Brock with Brian still on the other side when he left.

   It wasn’t until Evan came back just as the sun kissed the horizon that we remembered the situation with yesterday's intruder. The alpha's clothes were sopping wet when he came into the house and entered the living room. His gorgeous raven locks hanging down in his face only served to speak to the pissed expression on his face. The whole room shrunk from his presence as he padded over to us on eerily silent feet. Brian and I both sat up when he came to a stop on the other side of the recliner.

   I watched quietly as his nostrils flared and he opened his mouth to scent the air.

   “Where are the other three?” The alpha suddenly questioned, glancing around the room. I tensed as I recognized that he was referring to the trio: Marcel, Scotty, and Panda.

   “They went into town.” Brian responded, a slightly annoyed look on his face as he crossed his arms. I quickly realized that his defensiveness was caused by Moo, who had his eyes averted from the angry alpha.

   Evan’s handsome face scowled as his eyes flickered back and forth. From him, I sensed an indecision. After a moment, the alpha rubbed his hands harshly over his face.

   “Can someone text them and tell them to come back as soon as possible?” Evan requested, looking around the room. Lui was the first to pull out his phone, so I left the responsibility to him.

   “Why the rush?” Nogla asked uncertainly.

   Evan rolled his shoulders back, the joints making harsh popping sounds. I frowned, recognizing the animal in that subtle movement. When the alpha looked back down, he met each of our eyes head on with a set jaw. In those eyes, I could see that the outer edges were tainted with gold.

   “What happened Evan?” Brock asked, lifting his head to finally meet the leader’s gaze.

   The alpha glanced over his shoulder uncertainly. I could almost see him asking himself if he should invite Wildcat down. I knew Tyler wouldn’t be in a decent enough mood to deal with angry alpha stench coming from anyone but him though which just turned a bad idea into a horrible one. Therefore, I was very glad when Evan sat down in the single chair at the end of the room without calling for a pack meeting.

   I watched in trepidation as Evan leaned forward on his elbows, the scowl on his face deepening.

   “I spent today visiting other packs and rogues, warning them of the scent we found yesterday.” The alpha started slowly. “My advice was met with ill will and a few spiteful remarks. That’s not what bothered me though. I could care less what the others think. The problem is that the rogue came back into the territory.”

   Evan looked up to watch our reactions as those words sank in. Personally, it didn’t affect me. For the others who had gone on patrol yesterday though, this information was met with a wave of agitation, most of which came from Moo.

   Everyone’s head sort of turned towards the beta in concern, especially Evan’s. The alpha watched his beta’s reaction with a hooded expression, his eyes partially covered by his hair which was still dripping wet with rain water.

   Everybody had heard in some way about Moo’s panic attack yesterday because of the rogue. It only made sense that they’d be concerned about him the most when mentioning it today.

   Brock frowned, his wide eyes portraying his fear but his expression challenging the pity of any onlooker who happened to meet his eyes. Brian didn’t try shielding his boyfriend like he used to during times like this and, for that, I knew Moo was grateful. I knew the beta hated being pitied and it made him uncomfortable to be the center of attention but he had also expressed to me several times the importance of letting him deal with his unease by himself.

   I smiled a little and turned my attention back to Evan. The alpha glanced over to me, tilting his head for a moment, before clearing his throat to get everybody’s attention once again.

   “I came through the eastern border on my way back when I found the rogue’s trail this afternoon.”

   The room tensed at this statement.

   “That’s on the ot’er side of the territory. There’s no way it could have moved that fast around the border in the past twenty-four hours without entering again- not after how much blood we found yesterday.” Brian growled uneasily.

   I shifted in my seat with confusion, Lui and Moo reacting in similar ways. “Blood? You guys found blood?”

   Evan stared over at Brian with a reprimanding kind of ferocity in his eyes. The werecat glared back at him with equal intensity.

   “During the second patrol yesterday, we followed the smell of the rogue back to a place where it must have settled down to rest in the bushes.” Evan frowned and looked down at his hands. “There was enough blood and fur there to make a whole new person with more to spare. Yet, when we followed the trail, it led us far out of the territory and we never found a body.”

   The alpha paused for a moment before glaring up at Brian again. “This wasn’t supposed to be mentioned outside of the group that saw it but obviously it wasn’t kept for very long.”

   “They deserve to know. It’s stupid to keep something like that from everyone here.” Brian bristled from across the room.

   Evan shook his head. “No. There were reasons I told you to keep quiet.”

   “And would you mind explaining what those reasons were instead of being all cryptic?” Brian snapped.

   I tensed as Evan lifted his head a little and he straightened to get a better look at the werecat.

   “I have my reasoning.” The alpha responded warily.

   Brian scoffed and shook his head. “Whatever Evan. Anyway, how could an animal as beaten as that one make it halfway across our territory in less than a day? That’s way too much distance for it to cover.”

   “Maybe it’s being driven by something. Maybe there’s something here that it needs.” Nogla suggested. I glanced up at the winged demon, anxiety creeping through my body. In that moment, I didn’t notice Evan’s face grow stone cold with fear.

   “But what could possibly drive a demon so strongly, especially one that might be feral?” Lui asked from his spot. The shifter seemed unusually troubled by Nogla’s insinuation.

   Nogla shrugged. “I dunno. Just got a feelin’.”

   As these words settled into the air around us, Evan let out a huff of frustration. All eyes turned to the alpha as he rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath.

   “Patrols will be taken every two hours throughout the night and tomorrow. Everyone is to go in pairs to different areas of the territory but four people will be sent out at one time to ensure reinforcements in case one pair gets in trouble. That is the decision I have made and I intend to keep it that way until someone catches that stupid rogue or until we can confirm that it’s as dangerous as everyone seems to think.” Evan instructed us in a firm voice.

   Several looks of disgust and varying degrees of frustration rippled through the pack.

   “That means barely any of us will get any sleep before we have to leave again.” Brian pointed out, seeming angrier and more baffled than the others.

   Evan shrugged. “Then that’s the price we have to pay.”

   “But-” Brian tried to argue, only to be interrupted as Evan lifted his head, his eyes glowing an intimidating shade of gold with his teeth bared.

   “That is my plan and I intend to stick with it until this is solved. That. Is. Final.” The alpha growled, his voice lowering.

   Everyone’s eyes went to the ground as Evan spoke and, after a moment, Brian’s did as well.

   “I was hoping that the other three would be here so it wouldn’t be so taxing on you guys. However, since they are gone, you guys will have to pick up the slack. Everyone except Mini, Tyler, and I will head out on patrol in the next hour. Until then, I don’t care what you do.” The alpha ordered before standing and walking out of the room, his energy seeming to have faded.

   Everyone in the living room was left in silence as Evan left. It wasn’t until his bedroom door slammed shut upstairs that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

   “I know he's worried but damn.” Nogla was the first to break the silence.

   “He's got a lot on his plate. He isn't to blame.” Moo murmured, his voice sounding distant. I turned to see that the beta was mostly talking to Brian who still looked angry on the other side of the couch.

   Brian shook his head. “Yeah but he shouldn't be so harsh. Every two hours is a lot to demand of us and, even with everyone here, that means that we have to take shifts every 2-4 hrs no matter what time we start. None of us will be able to get any sleep.”

   “I’m not sure if you guys have felt it, but ever since this rogue has come into our territory, I've had this extreme uneasiness in my stomach." Lui chimed in from the other side of the room. "I don't know what it means, but I know it's because of the rogue and it's making me sick. So, the quicker we get rid of it, the happier I'll be, even if that means that I have to risk a few days of sleep.”

   Brian frowned but nodded in understanding nonetheless. I realized from everyone’s expressions that they also felt the same discomfort at this situation. Once again, my throat constricted as the feeling of dread that I had been experiencing the past few days came back.

   With a groan, I got up and shook myself out.

   “Where ya goin’?” Nogla questioned curiously.

   “I’m gonna tell Wildcat what’s happened so he can be prepared.” I responded as I walked away.

   “Oh. That would be a good idea.” The winged demon murmured. The others chuckled at him.

   I headed towards the stairs to find Tyler only to find that he was coming down to me instead with an ambivalent expression on his face. His eyes were already rimmed with a brighter shade of blue as, marking the awakening of his alpha within.

   “I take it Evan’s back?” He stated more than questioned. I nodded and grabbed his hand, gently pulling him away from the stairs and to the gaming room.

   “He seemed angry.” The alpha remarked as we came to a stop in the middle of the room. I sat on the back of one of the couches in the room and sighed.

   “Not really angry. Just scared and worried.” I corrected him, raising my head to look into the tiger’s eyes.

   Tyler squinted at me. “Why?”

   “He went to warn everyone about the rogue today and, when he came back, he said that the rogue returned and it was, or is, within the borders.”

   Tyler let out a low growl and looked away, his face portraying a subdued version of the expression that Brian had worn a moment ago when this was mentioned.

   “I know. That shouldn’t be possible.” I commented before he could. Tyler frowned uncertainly. “Brian said something about there being a lot of blood yesterday on the second patrol.” I added before he could ask questions.

   Tyler took in a deep breath and sighed. “No wonder Evan seemed mad. He told us specifically not to tell anyone about that.”

   “Do you happen to know why?” I asked the alpha, my curiosity getting the better of me.

   Tyler shook his head. “Not really. He got this weird expression on his face though… as if all of his worst nightmares had come true.”

   I rubbed my hands together restlessly. Evan was normally a calm and collected person for the most part. It was rare that he ever let his alpha show as much as he had done earlier but, this time, he had. A part of me knew he would beat himself up over it but I also knew that he was stressed like Moo said which only made his current frame of mind worse than it was.

   “Did he say what he planned on doing?” Tyler asked, slowly walking closer until he hovered over me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and sighed before repeating word for word what Evan had instructed us to do.

   Tyler seemed to do the math in his head before heaving a sigh.

   “Looks like we’re not getting any sleep soon then. That’s not too bad though. We’ll get like four hours of free time before we have to go again.”

   I tilted my head, checking over the math. “Actually, Brian said it’ll be a little less because the trio isn’t here.”

   “What? I thought they would be back by now.” Tyler remarked worriedly.

   I shrugged. “Well, they aren’t and that made Evan even more irritable so, I suggest avoiding him for a little while.”

   Tyler sighed and leaned forward to place his nose in my hair.

   “It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow then.”

   I nodded. “Unfortunately. The first group leaves in an hour and it’ll basically be everyone except us and Evan.”

   “Well that's awkward.” Tyler grimaced a little as I glanced up at him.

   I let out a huff of laughter. “True.”

   “Well, should we grab something to eat and head upstairs?” The alpha asked, placing his hands over mine and pulling away from me.

   I smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

   With that, we made our way to the kitchen and pulled out more leftovers for dinner. Briefly, I worried about what the others would eat but I brushed it off and continued what I was doing, convinced that they could fend for themselves before they left.

   Once Tyler and I finished heating our food, he turned to me with a smile.

   “Ready?”

   I nodded and led the way upstairs to my room. As we entered, I walked over and set my food and my drink on my desk. Tyler paused in the doorway and took a deep breath. A slight frown came across his face as he looked at me with a hint of sorrow.

   “I apologize for acting the way I did this morning.” He said softly, walking over to place his stuff on the desk as well.

   I pursed my lips and walked over to grab his hands, leading him gently over to my bed and sitting him down. When he was seated, I went back for the food and brought it over to him. He thanked me quietly and slowly began eating the contents of his bowl.

   I glanced over to him occasionally as we sat and ate, all too aware of the brooding expression on his face. In a way similar to Marcel, I knew that Tyler hated losing control over his alpha. He hated not being in control in general and his instincts only made that hatred more prominent. Sure, he had been listening to his alpha a lot more lately but, even though he seemed to have had a reign on the animal, today proved otherwise.

   Personally, I was surprised that my leopard remained dormant for the most of the day. I would have been grateful for this had it not been for the constant dread I could feel emanating from the animal. Vaguely, I wondered if that’s what Lui had been talking about earlier when he said that the situation with the rogue made him sick. Perhaps we were feeling the same thing but in different ways.

   “Whatcha thinkin’?” Tyler asked quietly.

   I glanced sideways at him and smiled when I realized that he had been staring at me.

   “Just mulling over the day’s events I guess.”

   Tyler grunted, a somewhat bitter look on his face. I hummed softly and nudged him lightly with my knee.

   “Ya know, it’s not really your fault… what happened today was an effect of my attitude as well. I should be the one to apologize. I didn’t listen to your opinion fully and it was childish of me to refuse to hear you like that. I don’t blame you for getting mad.”

   “I shouldn’t have gotten mad in the first place. You’re right to be reluctant in listening to me. I’m not gonna lie and try and tell you that _He_ hasn’t been in my head lately but I was convinced that I had it under control. Apparently not though.” Tyler responded, taking a thoughtful bite of his food.

   I nodded. “True. You were right though. You shouldn’t have to imprison him but there is still a boundary to keep between your thoughts and his. I’m not sure where that boundary lies for you so I can’t tell you how you should deal with it but… I don’t know. I honestly don’t. It’s something that you’ll have to judge for yourself.”

   Tyler sighed and finished off his food, leaning over to my nightstand to set down his dish. With a smile, I handed him my empty bowl as well. He shook his head, amusement in his eyes, but did as I wanted without complaints.

   Then, before I could suspect anything, the tiger tackled me sideways onto the bed. I let out a shriek of surprise as the edge of the bed underneath me bowed out, threatening to throw both of us off.

   Tyler gasped and struggled to pull me back up but failed. I shouted a whole slur of curses as I tumbled off the bed and onto the floor. The hardwood met me with harshness as I landed, laughing loudly and struggling to get the air back from what I lost between laughing and hitting the ground.

   Tyler released one of his infamous wheezing laughs as well as he peered over the edge of the bed to see me.

   “You prick!” I shouted as I got up off the ground and dived towards the amused tiger, pushing him back onto the bed.

   Tyler laughed some more as he fell back, his arms pinned underneath my hands. His mirth spread through me with contagion and I soon toppled to the side, engulfed in my own laughter. After a while, our laughs died out and we were left giggling.

   “You just straight fell off.” The tiger murmured, his voice bouncing over his laughter.

   I reached over and smacked him lightly in the chest.

   “Fuckin’ cunt.” I giggled.

   The accused tiger simply rolled over and laid an arm over me with a smile as he buried his face in my shoulder. I sighed in content and tilted my head to the side to look at him. As usual, Tyler was already watching me with an enraptured expression. I smiled and turned to face him fully, propping my head up on my hand.

   “You are a miracle.” The tiger remarked, his words drawn out and imbued with an ineffable sense of affection.

   I felt my jaw slacken a little as a strong wave of fondness and warmth spread through my chest. It didn’t suddenly burst and pop throughout my body like in the movies and books though. Instead, the feeling simmered in my chest and boiled over into each part of my body, taking its time in warming every inch with steady caution and care.

   When the feeling had consumed every portion of my being, Tyler leaned forward with a smile and, without a word, he pressed his lips to mine, gently and with utmost attentiveness. I couldn’t help but smile back as I returned the gesture.

   “Why thank you.” I mumbled lightly as we pulled away, a smile upon my lips. Tyler hummed lightly and tightened his arm around my waist.

   “Your welcome.” He murmured, sighing contentedly, the scent of our happiness permeating the room around us.

   For a long time we sat, whispering sweet nothings to one another, most of which consisted of compliments and half-uttered phrases of adoration. This was how everything had been before we started getting stuck, before the problem of not being mates came between us, before we were considering moving out. Our relationship had been full of these moments, moments where we could appreciate just how much the other meant to us and why we were together. Sometime recently, I had forgotten what this felt like.

   Yet, for the hour that I spent in Tyler’s arms, I simply let myself enjoy the moment, ignoring the world around me for a while and the restless marching of the leopard in my head.

   It was only when noise kicked up from downstairs that we finally began releasing each other from our endearing affections.

   “It’s been an hour. You think that they’ll leave soon?” Tyler asked. I glanced at the clock and sighed.

   “Probably. I’ll go check on them and wash our dishes.”

   “Tell Brian not to stub his toe again when they try to race, will ya?” Tyler remarked.

   I chuckled and got up to grab our bowls and plates.

   “I’ll be back.” I called over my shoulder as I walked out of the room and headed downstairs. At the bottom of the steps, I could see the giant white wings of a certain someone peeking around the corner accompanied by the faint murmur of voices which greeted me as I approached.

   “We'll take the Eastern border. You guys should take the Southern.” Brian ordered just as I turned the corner around Nogla’s wings.

   “Are you sure you want the dangerous one first?” Lui asked with an indifferent expression. Behind those dark brown eyes however, I could see his concern.

   Moo frowned and looked to his boyfriend in question. Brian simply nodded.

   “We can take it.”

   Lui and Nogla glanced at each other before sighing.

   “Alright. Scream or shout if you need anything.” The shapeshifter murmured before passing by the others and walking out of the door with Nogla just behind him. Brian made to follow suit, throwing a comforting smile and a quick “hi” at me as he passed.

   “We'll be fine.” Moo assured me as I turned to him. I grunted softly and shook my head.

   “You better be. If not, I will hunt you down in the after life.”

   Moo chuckled before giving me a short side hug and following the others out the door.

   I sighed as the door clicked shut, realizing that I hadn’t been able to pass on Tyler’s joke before they left. In fact, the incident was so quick that I almost didn’t recognize that it happened, like it was some fragmented part of a dream. Then, I turned and continued on my mission to drop off the dishes in the kitchen. Quietly, I washed each one, dried them off, and placed them back in their rightful places.

   For a moment, I sat, staring at the countertop, my mind blanking. Shuffling coming from the living room woke me up soon after though. Curious, I wandered into the room and found Evan sitting on the couch with his head leaned back over the chair in a similar state to what I had found him in that very morning. Except, this time, as I got closer, I realized that his eyes were pure gold and wide open.

   Intimidated by the blatant animal in his eyes, I took a step back but stopped when I noticed that he was breathing deeply in such a way that I could’ve almost sworn that he was sleeping. Then, with a start, I realized that’s exactly what was happening.

   “Evan?” I called out to him.

   With a start, the alpha snapped to attention and looked around in a panic.

   “What? I’m up. What’d I miss? What’d you guys find?”

   After a moment of shaky breathing, Evan’s eyes meandered up to my face. I could almost feel the anxiety in his chest as if it were my own. Slowly, the alpha curled in on himself, clutching his chest when he realized that his breathing wasn’t slowing down.

   I made my way over to him and sat down at his side, rubbing his shoulders gently. He allowed the gesture until he calmed down a little. Only then did he shy from my administrations.

   “You alright?”

   “I’ll take the next shift once they get back.” Evan remarked even though his eyes were growing droopy and his breathing was still mildly labored.

   “What time did you wake up this morning?” I asked quietly, realizing that I hadn’t bothered asking when I saw the alpha earlier that morning.

   Evan frowned and turned away from me. “I didn’t. I haven’t slept since yesterday night.”

   I nodded slowly. “I thought so.”

   Suddenly, it made sense why Evan had been so frustrated with the trio for leaving. Without them here, it meant that he would have to take a shift in patrols while getting little to no rest. In my mind’s eye, I could sense his worry and concern tripping up his thoughts as his eyelids grew heavier. Yet, they never did shut. I smiled solemnly.

   Sure, in some senses Evan’s newest plan of attack for this rogue could be seen as harsh and unforgiving. However, I also knew that Evan would’ve taken on the task by himself if only he could cover all four sections of the territory at once.

   Not for the first time that day, sympathy welled up in my heart as I considered the weight on our leader’s shoulders and how precisely he was handling everything. Slowly, my thoughts drifted to how many things he was dealing with at that moment and I was suddenly struck by the fact that I hadn’t bothered asking how his plans for Zephyra’s mission were going lately. So, with a deep, preparing breath, I tilted my head towards the alpha with a smile.

   “I don’t mean to remind you of your responsibilities but how are the plans going for your mission?”

   Evan grimaced and put his head in his hands, gently massaging his temples with his thumbs.

   “Well, next week I have a meeting with the ambassadors of Panlyog to figure out if I can weasle through their defenses and get some information but I’m not sure it’ll work. Then, I’ll need to start planning some concrete details from there.”

   I frowned. “I would offer to go with you but I’m not sure I’m welcome in town yet.”

   Evan glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and sighed. “Yeah. I don’t wanna get you tangled up in this anyway. If they get suspicious, I may just come home with hunters on my tail. I hope it doesn’t come to that but I have to be prepared for anything.”

   I nodded. “True. But you can’t defend yourself if you’re half asleep. Right now, our focus is getting this rogue wrapped up and dealt with and that requires you getting some rest. You’ve definitely earned it.”

   Evan sighed. “I know but I’ll need to do the next shift. Until the trio comes back, there won’t even be enough people to cover two shifts without reusing someone and that will get tiring eventually… Maybe I’m doing this wrong. Should I shift the hours?”

   I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Right now, it seems like a good idea to keep a closer eye on the border in case something bad does happen. Maybe we can shift the hours tomorrow though if there isn’t much to indicate that we should be so guarded.”

   Evan pursed his lips. “You right.”

   I smiled. “I know I am.” The alpha simply gave me a dirty look before rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

   “You and Tyler will have to take the next shift with me. I’m not so worried about being by myself but I did say to go in groups of more than two. Will you guys be ready?”

   I murmured my assent, after which Evan shifted to lay down on the couch, his feet curled up near my legs.

   “Wake me when you guys are ready then.” The alpha mumbled, rapidly falling into a deep slumber.

   For a moment, I hoped that his eyes would close. They didn’t though. Instead, they resumed the color they had been when I first entered the room and the alpha slept with his eyes wide open.

   I shook my head in exasperation and got up to return to my room where Tyler was sure to be waiting for me.

   There were reasons for my not going into town lately. The last time I went into town, I blew up and started ranting to Scotty about how wrong it was for people to hate on demons and some other humans overheard me. Fortunately, they didn’t think too much of it other than to make fun of me for sympathizing with “Devils” and “Murderers”. However, since then, I tried to stay as far away from the human city as possible for my personal health as well as for the safety of the pack. Another blow up like that could cost all of us our safety.

   The humans that lived in Panlyog were spiteful people. I was aware that the demons on the continent of Soanric- the continent just south of us- had it worse there. Soanrican humans loathed demons and they killed on site. It didn’t matter if the demon was passing by or if they were half human. Any ounce of demon blood was despised and destroyed. Even humans that were only suspected of being demons were tortured or killed.

   Luckily, the people here in Noanric weren’t quite as extreme- as long as they didn’t know for a fact that someone was a demon. In most parts of the continent, demons were accepted and sometimes exalted by humans thanks to the _Kafaira_ , Zephyra’s, rules and ordinances. Unfortunately, there were still areas of humans that detested demons and refused to negotiate with them or simply killed them as soon as they saw them.

   Panlyog was one of those few areas of humans. They hated demons and any demon they saw was killed or tortured or sold to the Market. However, not many humans made it through torturing a demon without far worse consequences. That was also provided that the demon made it out alive.

   These were some of the unfortunate parts about living side by side with the humans. They had the potential to be good people and generally they were but there are always small groups of individuals who ruin the party for everyone else.

   I hated hiding from them but I understood why Evan kept us so close to the humans. Because of the fact that our group was so diverse, we sometimes had to depend on the humans for food. Not all of us were carnivores and not all of the carnivores had strict meat diets. That becomes a problem when you live in an area that has no good farming soil and is covered in thick copses of trees.

   These thoughts were running through my head when I entered my room to find Tyler stretched over my bed with his eyes closed. Assuming he was asleep, I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

   I was so occupied with my mind that I didn’t notice when Tyler woke up. I only realized it when I felt his hand on my back. Slowly, I turned to look at him.

   Without warning, he reached out and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me down to lay with him. I didn’t get a chance to look into his eyes as usual before my face was pressed into his chest, one hand encasing my hips.

   “Tyler?” I murmured into his shirt.

   He tensed and curled around me, burying his nose in my hair. “I’m sorry Craig.” He responded quietly, his breath making my scalp hot.

   “For what?”

   He kissed my head gently before pulling his face away. “For all of this crap. For stressing you out. For being such a pain. For putting you in this position where you’re forced to sacrifice your mental health for me. I sense it in you. You aren’t as happy as you used to be and I know it’s my fault. I’m just… I’m just so sorry.” He squeezed my waist, his body shivering against mine. I wrapped my arms around his torso and matched the way he held me.

   “Don’t blame yourself. It’s not really your fault and, if it is, it would be my fault as well.” I assured him, my chest constricting with so many emotions..

   “If I wasn’t an alpha-”

   With a growl, I lifted my head and reached up to clap a hand over the tiger’s mouth.

   “Don’t even start.” I warned him. At this distance, I realized that Tyler was on the verge of tears.

   “There are tons of ‘what ifs’ in this situation; it would take us years to come up with them let alone fully understand all of them. I don’t want to hear you say you regret being an alpha ever again. That’s not who you are.” Once I saw that my words were slowly sinking in, I took my hand from his mouth. He stared at me for a moment before leaning down and kissing me sweetly, the tenderness of his lips leaving a bittersweet taste on my mouth.

   An unspoken regret shown in his eyes as he pulled away to gaze down at me. I squeezed him gently before sitting up to get under the covers.

   “We’ll be fine Tyler. We have to believe that.” I murmured as I curled up against the warm chest in front of me once more.

   Tyler sighed and wrapped me up in his arms again.

   “I know. I just hope we make it through this in one piece.”

   That night, we fell asleep unaware of the dangers that the following day would bring and how drastically our life was about to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello wonderful citizens~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you’re having a fabulous day/night as usual.
> 
> I hope to post next chapter by next week sometime whether it be before or during the Thanksgiving season and, depending on how long it takes me to edit Chapter 9, I might be able to post that in the next two weeks because it’s already pretty much written in full so that’ll be ready really quick but next chapter adds a whole new perspective and finally introduces one of the newest characters~ Stay tuned for that
> 
> On the topic of “Revoking claims”: As I said before, an alpha claims each member of their pack by a bite to the wrist and frequent scent marking. However, if the members so choose, they can relinquish the hold of their alpha over them and free themselves of the claim. Most times, this ends up turning people against each other because their animals see the person who left as a traitor. Simple as that.
> 
> This might be apparent to a few people but for others, like myself, that don’t see correlations easily, I would like to mention that Noanric is North America. Basically, the whole world view in terms of continents and places is the same thing as it is in real life but with slight twists in the names. The only other difference is that there aren’t really such things as countries in this universe that I’ve created. Sure, there’s continents but mostly those continents are made of several hundreds of thousands of tribes/packs/clans/cities that are, for the most part, self governed. Of course, there are simple overarching laws that rule over everyone but local governments have a bit more power.
> 
> A key for the names of the continents:  
> Noanric is North America. Soanric is South America. Arifan is Africa. Asvinia is Asia. Anumroic is Antarctica. Eufanha is Europe. Ausginat is Australia.
> 
> P.s. I may ship these guys together and I may be writing fics about them but, as a side note, I would like to mention that I absolutely adore the boys and their relationships with their girlfriends <3 Mini and Sunidey recently uploaded a video of them doing yoga in sumo suits and I loved every moment of it XD
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Tons of angst and several fight scenes so there will be blood and acts of violence  
> So, I have a bit of a loophole to throw at you guys for this chapter. I promised that the next few chapters would be really interesting and I hope this one is to you guys. I was planning to have the end of this chapter be the end of last chapter but I decided to split everything and go on a whole nother tangent for this chapter thanks to one of my Betas’ advice~
> 
> Also, the time indications are offered in relation to last chapter. So, for example, at the end of the chapter, I say that it takes place on “the next day”. This means that it happens the day after last chapter. Everything that Ohm dreams of is written in italics and the rest is all times when he presently talks about his experiences. And yes. I did just say Ohm~ Things are about to intensify ladies and gentlemen.
> 
> Also, a little fun fact about Fox Demons is that, when fighting, they can harden their tails to the point where it becomes as powerful as a stone or they can make it grow ten times their size for different things as well.
> 
> One Need-To-Know Term is the “DemHum” conflict which is just another term for the social issues between Demons and Humans.
> 
> Enjoy!

  **Ohm’s Perspective**

**_Four and a half months ago_ **

_I growled with effort as the boulder I was trying to move finally gave way and shifted closer to the edge of the cliff I was trying to push it off of. Redoubling the force with which I was pushing, I gritted my teeth and heaved the enormous rock out of the crevice in which it sat and jumped back as the ground underneath me gave way to release its possession._

_“_ Timber _!” I roared as the behemoth of stone raced down the cliff side, the sound of its body hitting the walls of the snow covered canyon making sickening cracking sounds as it plummeted to the ground below._

_The three wolves below me raised their heads and jumped out of the way with varying yelps of fright just as the boulder went thundering past them, kicking up snow as it went. I grinned in self satisfaction as they all then looked up at me in awe._

_Carefully, I picked my way down the cliff side until I got to a large stone sticking out from the wall’s edge. From there, I jumped down, landing in front of the three large Demon-Wolves in a puff of white snow, the soft material glittering around us in a familiar blinding fashion. The giant red wolf to my left shook his head in the spot he was standing, his skeletal wings flaring in amusement. The dark midnight blue wolf with a decorated white mask directly in front of me trotted up to me, his maniacal laughter, colored by anxiety, resounding through the air around us. The third wolf, a shorter, brown canine with black ears ran up to me with a smile._

_“_ A little warning next time Ohm! I could have died _!” Delirious barked, lowering his masked head to me with his black ears flattened._

 _“_ But ya didn’t. Plus, I just did what you guys were too lazy to do so ya might wanna pick your jaws up off the floor boys and start picking up some slack. _” I commented smugly._

 _“_ And, he _didn’t_ kill us. That’s all that matters _.” Cartoonz remarked, his large, red-horned head butting Delirious in the shoulder._

 _“_ Either way, that was awesome _!” Squirrel piped up excitedly. I turned a little to see the brown wolf grinning at me in delight._

 _“_ Thank you Squirrel! At least someone appreciates my talent _.” I yipped, bouncing through the snow to my young supporter and wrapping my tail around his shoulders._

_Delirious narrowed his eyes at me while Cartoonz only chuckled._

_“_ It was pretty damn amazing _.” The red-eyed canine smiled wolfishly as he stalked over to me and headbutted my shoulder._

 _I smiled up at him. “_ That is what I do best. _”_

 _Cartoonz squinted at me with a sly grin. “_ Wait, are you saying being amazing is what you do best? _”_

 _“_ I know that’s not true _.” Delirious scoffed, his accented voice so eerily similar to Cartoonz’s._

_I ducked my head away with a nervous chuckle as all three wolves started laughing._

_“_ Fuck off _.” I growled half-heartedly as I hopped through the tall banks of snow towards the boulder that I had worked so hard to get off of the cliff. It looked big enough for what we were planning._

_Just to be certain, however, I jumped up on top of the rock and sat on it while waiting for the three wolves to follow. Their long, thick legs carried them easily through the snow as they approached, their enormous feet obscuring the tiny tracks of my small fox feet. For me, the rock was three times my height and twice as long as me all the way around. However, to the wolves below me, the stone was only about a third of their height taller than them. Even Squirrel stood pretty close to the top despite being younger than all of us and the closest to my height. In some sense, that shouldn’t have been surprising considering the young master was already too tall for his supposed age, at least in his wolf form._

_“_ You sure this one will be good enough _?” I asked Delirious as he began pacing around my perch._

_The masked wolf glanced up at me for a moment before continuing his observations. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Cartoonz staring up at me with an amused look. Turning to the tallest wolf, I laid on the rock, its surface freezing against my belly, and reached down to swat at his horns and ears. The wolf nipped at my paws playfully._

_“_ I think this’ll do _.” Delirious suddenly piped up from the other side of Squirrel, who stood by Cartoonz’s side. I paused with my arm halfway down the rock to look at the wolf before getting up and carefully jumping down._

_Immediately, Squirrel took my place as I distanced myself from the rock. Cartoonz followed me to the edge of the clearing and sat down facing the other two wolves once I stopped. I took a seat next to him and watched Squirrel spread his paws all across the boulder, observing every crevice with detailed accuracy. Delirious waited for him patiently on the other side of the rock._

_Once Squirrel seemed to have finished, he lifted his head to look at Delirious, his eyes beginning to glow with an alien-like intensity. I frowned as the air around us crackled with energy, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand straight up._

_Delirious smiled encouragingly at the wolf. “_ You remember how to do one of this caliber right? It’ll take a lot of energy. _”_

_Squirrel nodded before summoning his next words from the depths of his soul, if he even had one._

_“_ **_Hw@ov$gam@^jin#he#%ai >×na#~tu?_ ** _”_

_The words sounded dark and distorted in a voice that I never would have thought belonged to Squirrel and yet I knew that it was him who spoke. I never understood the words spoken- they were too ancient for me to understand- but their utterance held power nonetheless._

_Delirious’ eyes glowed intimidatingly from behind his mask in response to Squirrel’s words. I looked away as the wolf reached up to pull off his mask ever so slightly. As soon as he touched it, the air was filled with an invisible miasma. I covered my nose with my tail as one of Cartoonz’s skeletal wings wrapped itself around my shoulders, shielding me from the smell._

_“C_ **_@got$#vohm@^#sh#%i?_ ** _S_ **_& an%#sh@i%$#go(%v*#*jang br@a$(@tum)$@ p#^~rati._ ** _” Delirious responded, his words equally as flawed as Squirrel’s but with a heavier note in accordance to their power._

_I turned away completely as a bright, vivacious light sprang forward from under Squirrel’s fur. The tattooed designs around my legs and my face heated up to an uncomfortable point but ceased when, with a sickening crack, the air exploded. I shivered as the sounds of several trees falling all around us thundered through the very ground that I stood on. Silently, I gave thanks to the fact that I would never have to fight Delirious and/or Squirrel at full power._

_As the sounds faded and Squirrel’s luminescence dimmed- his momentary brilliance making even the sun’s light seem mundane- I allowed myself to look again at the scene in front of me. Where the enormous boulder had stood before, now sat a huge mound of neatly stacked rocks that had been reduced in size to easy-to-carry proportions._

_As Cartoonz’s wing released me from its embrace, I glanced around at any damage that had been done. Normally, Squirrel was good with controlling what he did with these brief spurts of power. However, I could see a few trees around us that had not escaped the young one’s wrath._

_I stood to shake myself, my fur starting to lie flat again as the surge of power from Delirious and Squirrel quickly faded, all of the remnants being drawn back to Delirious so as not to leave any evidence. Cartoonz seemed unfazed by the energy still singing through the air but I had to remind myself that he had known Delirious since birth. This sort of thing was nothing new to him._

_As for me, I had known these guys for almost ten years at that point and yet even I wasn't used to Delirious’ foreign peculiarity. Therefore, a great deal of respect for Cartoonz’s calmness during these times harbored itself within my chest._

_As I walked towards the other two wolves with Cartoonz by my side, I noticed that Squirrel had disappeared. This wasn’t unusual and, as expected, once we got closer to Delirious, I could see that the young mastermind had fainted and was now curled up in the crook between Delirious’ shoulder blades in the form of the animal that he was named after._

_I was half tempted to pick him up and let him rest on my own back but I reminded myself that Squirrel had to stay with Delirious until he healed again. Sympathy for the young one’s near constant pain welled up in my chest as I gazed up at him._

_Delirious himself, on the other hand, exuded a baffling amount of heat even from a few feet away. His mask had been replaced on his face but his eyes still glowed dangerously from behind the white pearl-like material. Cartoonz paced around us, the tip of his tail flicking in agitation._

_“_ Ya good? _” The wolf asked cautiously._

_Delirious continued staring into space for a moment before looking up at Cartoonz and pausing._

_“_ Do you think it was noticed _?” He asked the tall guardian._

 _Cartoonz frowned. “_ I’m not sure… We can only hope not _.”_

 _Delirious sighed before turning to walk away. “_ You’re right. We should hurry _.”_

_I watched in silence as the two wolves walked over to the spot where we had dumped our baskets and grabbed each their own. Silently, they came back over and began loading the rocks into them. After a moment, I wandered over, grabbed my own carrier and began loading my fair share of the stones._

_We worked in silence for the most part, our concentration increasing tenfold as the sun began sinking towards the horizon. Our task had to be done before sunset unless we wanted to work in the dark, which wasn't a good idea considering the other three had to be up and leaving before dawn. It would have to be an early night for them so we packed as many pieces as we could to take to the river._

_Since it was still winter, the river on the southern edge of our border was frozen. However, spring would be coming in the next month or two and the river would thaw at that point._

_Last year, during the spring, when the river thawed, it had flooded our whole valley where we lived. It had been a horrible experience to come back to a house consumed by water after one of our missions._

_This year, we were taking precautions against the flooding. That's what this rock was for._

_Delirious’ idea had been to take a bunch of rocks and trees to build a dam above the waterfall further up the river. However, about a week ago, he had been given new orders from some higher ups to go somewhere for an investigation or something for a month or two which meant that the other three wouldn’t be able to help me find the rocks and build the dam before spring came. Breaking this rock using Delirious and Squirrel’s powers had been a last minute but necessary solution- or so we thought at the time._

_The only thing that I knew about this mission was that I wouldn't be going with this time. For over ten years I had traveled with Delirious and Cartoonz. During those times, the_ Kafaira _of Noanric had given the duo several missions to places all around the world. I had inadvertently tagged along for most of them, although I could think of two or three that I wasn’t supposed to go on._

_Either way, I had never been separated from the boys for too long. This mission sounded as if it would take a while though. That fact alone made me uncomfortable._

_However, since the orders had been given, I became overwhelmed by an uncanny sense of dread and agitation which filled my chest with a hardening darkness. For years, I survived by ignoring such instincts but in those dreadful days, I had begun to see the truth in their harrowing words before and shortly after the boys left._

_These were my thoughts as I worked._

_Once my basket was full, I helped Cartoonz load his carrier and, after we claimed all that we could carry, we set out for the river, leaving the rest to be gathered later if need be._

_It took a while to get there since the boulder had been broken on the northern border. So, as we went, Delirious scent marked several places, thus refreshing our boundaries. I would have to do more later but it sufficed for the time being._

_The sun had just began caressing the horizon when we finally reached our destination._

_I paused to gaze upon the raised cliff of the still waterfall where the long hardened icicles hid the ever present undercurrent of the water below. The waterfall glistened with a unique and blinding brilliancy. Somehow, I felt that it represented something in me, some deep part of me that had been frozen while the undercurrent of the world rushed on._

_At the top of the cliff, we set down our loads of rocks and carefully began pulling them out to stack them near some trees for later. Delirious gazed down at the stacks once he had finished before sighing._

_“_ I don’t think this’ll be enough but it’ll have to do for now. You'll have to get the rest later and cut down some trees for more structure before the river thaws. _” The wolf spoke up, turning to me as he spoke with an apologetic expression._

 _I nodded_ . “I'll get it finished either way. _”_

_Delirious hummed before twisting around awkwardly to see his shoulders. Squirrel still hadn't woken up but he at least seemed much more comfortable now, the ghostly look of pain on his face fading. Seemingly satisfied, Delirious stretched for a moment before setting out towards the house, which wasn't too far away from here, his tail beckoning us to follow him._

_I paused to look at the waterfall one more time before Cartoonz gently nudged me. A playful huff lifted itself from my chest as I turned and trailed after Delirious._

_We traveled for a little while before Cartoonz caught up with Delirious and they began discussing their plans for their trip the next day in low voices._

_“_ So, it'll take about a day to get to the train in Ganhyuo. They don't run the trains at night so we'll spend the night there before catching a train at dawn to Lankiv. The trip will take about 3 days from there and we are scheduled to meet Lafaino Heculio’s clan in Brasvin. We'll kinda have to wing it from there _.” Delirious hashed out the details of the mission that had already been set in stone and repeated for over a week._

_I shook my head, sensing his nervousness even though he kept his voice deliberately slower. Cartoonz nodded wearily, his red eyes betraying the fact that he knew Delirious was anxious._

_Sometimes, I had to remind myself that they could hear each other's thoughts so Cartoonz already knew exactly what Delirious felt even as he rambled through the list of things to do._

_We weren't too far from the house when Delirious paused in his footsteps. I frowned, my own anxiety increasing as I witnessed his shoulders hunch over as he sat down._

_“_ What's wrong Delirious? What are you so afraid of? _” I asked as I walked up to him and paced around his tall figure._

_The wolf watched me with a careful eye, drinking in my presence. I soon realized that, without my knowing it, I had already begun producing calming pheromones._

_Cartoonz head butted my shoulder at one point when I passed him, careful not to skewer me with his large horns._

_“_ I'm worried about _you_ . _” Delirious murmured suddenly. He said it just as I passed behind him, blocking me from both his and Cartoonz’s view._

_A sense of dread and agitation spiked up through the ground, into my paws, as I paused in my steps. Gradually, I looked up at the back of Delirious’ head with a mounting sense of trepidation. For a moment, I was happy that I was hidden from the views of both wolves. I never noticed Squirrel’s bright golden eyes watching me from Delirious’ back but that didn't change anything anyway._

_Collecting myself, I continued pacing through my circle until I faced Delirious head on. He watched me for a moment before lowering his eyes._

_“_ I wish you could go with Ohm. I really do. _”_

_Before I could stop them, my eyebrows scrunched together, bunching up the gray bandana over my eyes._

_“_ I wish I could help you guys too. I feel useless here.” _I grumbled under my breath, anxiety pooling in between my ribs as I considered once again what their leaving meant for me._

_Somehow, I got the hopeless sense that everything would change the moment they stepped out the door. I'd had these doubts before but they weren't ever as strong as they were that day._

_“_ Her orders aren’t personal though Ohm. You know they aren’t. _” Delirious responded lightly with a cautious look my way._

 _My lips curled instinctively in displeasure. “_ I know. It's just… _” I tried to think about how I could describe my unease but nothing made sense._

_With a frustrated growl, I shook my head and trotted back to the house by myself with my head down low. It took a great amount of effort not to force my shift as I transformed back into my human form and it was harder yet not to slam the front door as anxiety singed my fingertips. Kicking off my shoes, I walked upstairs, into my room, and stripped myself free of the giant winter coat around my shoulders._

_After a moment, the front door opened and closed again and the smell of coffee wafted up from the stairs._

_I huffed quietly and sat down on my bed as the scent came closer. Pretty soon, Cartoonz came through my doorway in his human form. With a few deft movements, he grabbed one of my wooden chairs and turned it around so that he could sit on it backwards, straddling the back of the seat._

_“So, talk to me. What was that about? Are you- I don't know- angry at us for leaving you behind?” The demon asked carefully as he sat down._

_I shook my head and crossed my arms. “No. It’s just that…” I trailed off for a moment, once again unable to explain my mounting sense of dread. Taking a deep breath, I began collecting my thoughts into words._

_“Something's wrong with this mission and its circumstances Cartoonz. I can feel it. Now, I know it's not just me but Delirious as well. That in and of itself is terrifying. Delirious never says anything about being worried, especially for an individual’s safety. I know he thinks about it but these missions are always met with, ‘Oh. It’ll be fine Ohm. You worry too much.’ He gets nervous but he never gets scared or worried. Now that I know that he shares my concerns, it’s only made me more anxious.”_

_Cartoonz frowned as he leaned back to cross his arms. A bitter sense of fascination passed through me as a familiar expression of anxiety crossed his face._

_“You have the same impression, don’t you?” I asked quietly, lifting my head to look at him fully._

_A long, deep sigh came from the demon in front of me, his face stoically indifferent if one didn’t know how to read him. To me, however, I knew that I was right from that look alone._

_“Kind of. I just think we should bring you with us as well.” The wolf offered, looking up at me dubiously._

_I sighed and lowered my eyes. “I know. Maybe we’re all just paranoid.”_

_Cartoonz nodded slowly. “Maybe.”_

_I paused for a moment, sadness creeping through my heart as I leaned back on my hands. “I’m not angry though. Even though I do wish I could go with you guys, I know I can’t do anything about it. I'm just… scared.”_

_“I understand.” Cartoonz responded gently. “We all are. You’ve said it yourself though. What she says goes.”_

_I sighed. “I suppose you know that better than anyone.”_

_Cartoonz frowned and laid his head on his arms. “She's never really had a problem with you going with us before. I just don't understand why this mission is so different.”_

_I shrugged a little. “I don't know either. But you're wrong about her not having issues with it. Remember the trip to the Molraki tribes in Arifan eight years ago?”_

_Cartoonz chuckled. “You mean the trip that you stowed away on even though you're wanted in over a thousand places in Arifan and you didn't have your licensing?”_

_I smiled. “Yeah well, I didn’t want to be left behind because of stupid reasons like that.”_

_“Well, she was looking after your safety.” Cartoonz remarked with a smile before his amusement faded. “Maybe she's doing the same now. Protecting you.”_

_I frowned. Of course, I liked our_ Kafaira, _Zephyra Evelynn. She was perfectly flawed and I admired her endurance in all things according to her past lives as well as all that she had accomplished with the DemHum conflict. Her reasoning for the missions that she sent Delirious and Cartoonz on- and without her knowledge Squirrel as well- sometimes escaped me though. In the end, I knew she always had a plan for how things went but it was troubling not to understand why._

_“Maybe.” I responded quietly._

_A lapse of silence draped itself over us for a moment before Cartoonz sighed heavily and tilted his head to the side._

_“It's gonna be lonely without you.” The wolf murmured softly, raising his dark mocha eyes to look at me from his slumped position._

_I smiled. “You'll have fun with Delirious and Squirrel. You always do.”_

_Cartoonz pursed his lips. “I guess I can't really disagree with that.”_

_I hummed softly before pulling my legs up to curl underneath me on the bed._

_“I hope Squirrel gets better at controlling his powers while you guys are out there though.”_

_“I really hope that he doesn't have to use them.” Cartoonz responded quickly. “You know more than anyone that if Zephyra finds out he's up here, Delirious and I are as good as dead.”_

_I grimaced a little before sighing. “Yeah. You're right... I wish he had a bit more freedom though. I also wish he wasn't in so much pain all the time. The kid is always asking me for pain relievers.”_

_Cartoonz shook his head. “You know as well as we do that he’s not supposed to have those.”_

_“What else do you expect me to do? I can’t heal what I don’t know and can’t see and my pheromones do nothing for him. If you guys are still worried about the meds messing with his chemical balances in his body, I’ve checked into it. That is the one thing that I know how to do and I can tell you that nothing bad has happened as of yet.” I quipped._

_Cartoonz sighed. “I guess if you see no problem in it then it should be fine. You should- or I guess I can- check with Delirious though. He knows more about Squirrel then me and you combined.”_

_I nodded as I stood and wandered over to one of my desks where a shelf of cupboards suspended itself above the wooden platform. Many miscellaneous things blocked my way to the pill bottle hidden at the back of my cupboard. I pulled out each thing and stacked it on my desk carefully. From behind me, I could feel Cartoonz watching me quietly. Finally, my fingers glanced across a smooth bottle. Reaching out, I grabbed it and pulled it down before turning back to Cartoonz._

_“Well, just in case, I have an extra bottle of acetaminophen that Squirrel can take with him for now. He’s not allowed to take any more than four at a time though.”_

_Cartoonz stood and replaced my chair back in its rightful place before taking the bottle from me._

_“I’ll make sure he gets them. You could’ve given these to him in the morning though before we leave.” The demon remarked, glancing up at me uncertainly as he looked over the instructions on the bottle._

_I nodded. “I’ll see you guys off in the morning but I feel like Squirrel won’t wake up for a little longer and, once he does, he’ll probably need them but I want to go to bed here in a few, so I’m giving them to you.”_

_“You better get some sleep then cause you can bet your ass Squirrel will be in here to wake you up before we leave.” Cartoonz chuckled._

_“The kid doesn't have the heart to wake people up and you know it.” I responded playfully._

_Cartoonz rose an eyebrow at me. “Well then, you can bet that I'll be in here to throw your sorry ass out of bed.”_

_“Yes sir! Drill Sergeant sir!” I responded dramatically, saluting the wolf before giggling and turning back to my desks to sort everything and put it back in my cupboard._

_Cartoonz chuckled. “Actually, I think_ you’re _more of the drill sergeant with all your chore chart shit.”_

_“Hey!” I retorted, turning back to him with an indignant glare. “I’m trying to teach you ungrateful little shits how to be responsible.”_

_"Well, ya know what they say: 'Those that can't do, teach.'" Cartoonz muttered, amusement evident in his voice._

_“Excuse me!?” I growled, scowling at the wolf from across the room._

_“And those that can't teach, teach.” Cartoonz continued as if I hadn't even spoken._ _  
__  
_ "Get down and give me 50... Soldier !" I commanded, partially stumbling over my words as I tried to maintain an authoritative tone of voice.

_“Hey!” Cartoonz glared at me playfully._

_“What?” I responded innocently, my voice wavering ever so slightly._

_“I don't think so. Alright?”_

_“Yeah?” I questioned, enjoying the bit of banter._

_“I don't think so.” The wolf repeated with a smile._

_I paused, briefly enraptured by his fanged grin. “I… You're gonna get drilled by this sergeant."_

_Cartoonz let out an embarrassed guffaw and shook his head at me. “Ya gotta get a few drinks in me first.”_

_“That’s not what it took last time.” I quipped naturally before I could stop myself. As soon as the words escaped my mouth, my heart dropped as if the cords of its elevator had snapped and I was suddenly left plummeting to my death. With that one little sentence, I knew I had just poked the bear and completely ruined the moment of normalcy between me and the Demon-Wolf in front of me._

_I didn’t even bother looking up at Cartoonz. I was too afraid of what I would see in his face if I saw him. His face would be nothing but sadness and pity, two of my least favorite emotions and there would be nothing I could do about it. I had already ruined it. I already ruined the relationship between us months ago and, once again, I had gone and ruined a perfectly happy moment, perhaps the last happy moment between us._

_What I did not expect from this situation was for Cartoonz to step closer to me. My heart skipped several beats as I watched his feet approach me with apprehension, cold, unsettled nerves balling up in my chest like a poised snake, ready to strike._

_For a moment, he stood over me, watching with a quiet expression. Of course, he couldn't see my eyes through my bandana but he still managed to look almost directly into them as I lifted my head. I frowned, my ears perking up._

_After a moment, he reached forward with both of his hands, towards my face, before pausing._

_“May I?” He asked softly._

_An immense amount of surprise and agitation sparked through my mind and my body alike as I realized what he was asking. Something like this used to be a tradition between us but it had been such a long time since I had seen Cartoonz without my bandana. Now, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to see him because I knew how much pain it would cause in my heart. Yet, I couldn't deny that my entire existence vibrated with the excitement of actually seeing him again._

_So, before I could think twice, I slowly nodded my head and leaned forward until Cartoonz’s hand brushed across the bandana over my eyes. He smiled and reached back to undo the knot._

_As I felt the soft material slip from my face, I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid blinding myself when it finished falling away. From the demon in front of me, I sensed a mild bit of amusement._

_Then, the air shifted as Cartoonz leaned down without a word, his breath cascading over my face. For a moment, I was tempted to open my eyes but I kept them closed as the demon gently placed his forehead against mine._

_The beta in me preened at the attention, expressing a sense of happiness which I tried desperately to push down. Before I could stop myself, my eyes opened prematurely and I was suddenly met with a violent brilliance of light._

_I growled a little as my eyes adjusted to the soul in front of me, taking in what little colors I could see and infusing Cartoonz’s figure with every shade of the spectrum. I sucked in a deep breath as Cartoonz’s hand came up to rest on the side of my face and he leaned away from me to look into my eyes._

_From this distance, I could see the uncertainty in his thoughts but, beyond that, I could see everything that made him so unique. I could see all of his personality traits, his memories, his thoughts, his mannerisms, all confined into a simplified version of so many complex shades of every color known to the universe. Without my bandana, I could see the expressions of his very core: his_ soul.

_This was my curse. To see the souls of those around me even when they didn't want me to see it. Seeing someone's soul means seeing every part of their existence. It means invading every portion of their past, present, and future, and being able to know on an extremely intimate level all of the things they want to hide and all the emotions they have felt or will feel. It means knowing within seconds how many times they've failed, how many times they've succeeded, how many lives they've destroyed with simple misspoken words, how many lives they’ve saved with a simple gesture, how they've lied, how they've survived. Everything a person is shows in their soul and I had the power to see it._

_I couldn’t control it though. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn't ignore it even if I wanted. I could simplify it, cut the visions into pieces to be observed individually but, no matter what, I always saw the souls of those around me. For years, I wandered around, blindfolded by my own hands so I didn't have to see all of the horrible things people sometimes thought._

_When my mother and father found out that I was a boy, they were so profoundly disappointed. When I discovered that I was a subgender, my pack was horrified. When my first relationship ended in disaster, I saw disappointment and betrayal. When the humans found out that I was a demon, I saw malice._

_I had seen all of these things and, although I had also seen the joy in my friends after not seeing them for years and the excitement of someone waiting for their loved ones at a train station, I was still haunted by the things that I hadn't wanted to see but did anyway._

_This is exactly what I saw when the blurriness cleared and I was left staring into the depths of Luke’s soul, for it was Luke that I saw therein and not Cartoonz. As I suspected though, underneath an unspoken admiration for me harbored within Luke’s soul, I saw pity and sadness._

_The pity was for all the time I would have to spend alone when they left, but more than that, it was pity for the relationship lost between us and pity for me because I refused to believe that Luke still liked me in the way that I liked him. Under that, sadness tainted his thoughts as he gazed upon me. This sadness was for all the things that could’ve been and should’ve been but never came to pass because of a few misspoken words and an eavesdropping bandit._

_As soon as these emotions passed through my vision, I tried to pull away or at least avert my eyes but, of course, my traitorous instincts led me to look straight into the core of the demon in front of me._

_There, I spotted the very source of my grief and agony._

_Within almost every person’s soul, there is a ball of light. It is said to be the manifestation of a soulmate’s bond for, when someone meets the person they are destined to be with for the rest of their lives, the orb glows in sync with their partner’s soul._

_I had seen this many times in my life before I understood what it meant. It was that one week, the week that I let my beta control me, that I had seen Luke for the first time and, within him, I spotted the orb within his soul._

_Normally, this wouldn’t have been so surprising but, unlike everyone else whose cores I had seen after minimal sorting, it took over nine years for me to finally be able to witness Luke’s core. I’m almost certain I was only able to see it because of the intimate positions we maintained during that week but, since then, I couldn’t see Luke without seeing his core._

_I never believed in the whole soulmate thing until that week and then it was only because I was forced into believing it._

_I remember vividly seeing Luke’s core in the middle of it all. Back then, it had been a ball of pure white light surrounded by a maraun hue. Gazing upon it had been like gazing into the mouth of an open volcano; terrifying beyond belief but exhilarating nonetheless. Those feelings only increased when I had glanced down to see that the same core had been replicated in my own soul and my own core shared the exact same colors._

_After discovering it, I spent every waking moment staring into Luke’s core, baffled and afraid of what it meant. My beta instincts told me to claim him right away but I had ignored those instincts. In a sense, I guess it was a good thing that I decided to wait. Almost directly after that week ended, I discovered a different part of Cartoonz._

_Now, what had originally been a white light, shining brilliantly within our chests, was  consumed and mutilated by pitch black regret._

_“You see it, don’t you? How I feel about you?” Luke whispered softly._

_I shook my head, hot tears spilling from my eyes. Never had I told Cartoonz what I had discovered about our cores. He would have never understood anyway. “I can’t. I can’t. It’s not true.”_

_“It is true.” Cartoonz insisted gruffly, not realizing that we were both referring to two completely different concepts as he reached forward to grab my wrists._

_“No, it’s not!” I cried, trying and failing to pull away from him._

_“Yes, it is Ohm. You see how I feel so why don’t you believe it?” Cartoonz questioned, his voice cracking ever so slightly._

_I shook my head vigorously, squeezing my eyes shut as anguish and agony stung at all the places where Cartoonz’s hands touched the skin of my wrists. “It can’t be true. You don’t know what I see. I see everything.”_

_“And yet, you only focus on the bad things.”_

_“If you do love me then why did you say all of those horrible things?”  I shouted, lifting my head to look once more into those mocha eyes. “Why did you say it? I tried. I tried to be good to you. I tried to let you in.”_

_“I didn’t mean what I said and you know it!” Luke growled, his temper rising as his gaze flickered across my tear stained cheeks._

_“Luke… please… Let go of me.” I pleaded, my knees crumpling underneath me as I slumped towards the ground and began shaking violently. Cartoonz caught me with a deft arm around my back and tried to hug me closer but I pushed him away._

_“Why Ohm? Why are you doing this to yourself?” Luke whispered, his voice as lost as his glowing soul. I simply sat in silence, trying desperately to pull myself back together as pain and suffering consumed me._

_“I don’t understand Ohm.”_

_“I never expected you to.” I snapped defensively before I could think about it, glaring up at the Demon-Wolf as I tried hopelessly to block out the colors of his soul._

_Cartoonz let out a low, frustrated snarl before standing abruptly._

_“If this is how you want to say your goodbyes, I won’t stop you. Don’t expect me to say anything else in the morning though.” He growled as he grabbed the bottle of pain reliever I had given him from off of the ground and stormed out of the room, leaving me sobbing into a puddle of tears. For a moment, I felt as if I had bled my tears instead of cried them. The pain was just the same either way._

_I waited for a moment, half expecting him to come back. When he didn’t, I crawled back to my bed and curled up on top of the covers, not even bothering to pull up the sheets._

_In pain and despair, I fell asleep that night with the dreaded feeling of anxiety in my chest. The next morning, Squirrel came to wake me up as promised and I wandered downstairs to say goodbye, noting the blizzard roaring outside. Cartoonz barely glanced my way as I sent my best regards to the other two. Delirious gave me an apologetic look before they all headed out._

_In a sullen silence, I watched the three receding figures disappear into the winter storm, their bodies forcing their way through the snow with determination while I was left, exposed and careless, as the snow nipped at my cheeks with the kind of deafening vengeance that they would never have to experience._

**_Three months ago_ **

The smell of coffee engulfed me that one fateful night as I lay, curled up, in the comfort of Cartoonz’s bed. Despite my misgivings about the wolf before they left, I couldn’t deny the fact that he had helped me stay calm no matter the situation. I was partially convinced that this was because of the beta in me but another part of me truly wanted to believe that it had nothing to do with that.

My entire life, I had been beguiled into believing that anything to do with the beta half of me was wrong and shameful. It was almost tradition for subgenders to be taught this. Even to this day, I still sometimes believe the teachings of my mentors and my family when they bestowed this sort of prejudice upon me.

It was a shame that I had to be this way. My beta impulses had ended so many friendships in my past. The one I most vividly regret though is the relationship I had had with Cartoonz before I let the beta get a hold of me. That was probably the one thing I missed the most about my past; the ability to be friends with Cartoonz without any awkwardness or pain.

Back before everything went to shit, we had been closer than most, always poking fun at each other and/or trying to seduce each other. At one point, the seductions had worked but perhaps it was too soon or too late or it wasn’t the right circumstances.

In the depths of that dreadful night three and a half months ago- two weeks after the boys left- I remember these thoughts with uncanny clarity. That shouldn’t have been surprising since they crossed my mind a lot more than I liked to admit. That night though, I had been deep in thought- and sleep. Therefore, I’m not sure I ever recognized the first signs of danger. Looking back through my memories, I realize that there had been many warnings.

There was the change in the howling wind outside of the house which covered their footsteps and the darkness that hung over our home, the moon covered by the many clouds that I had seen on the horizon marking something that I should’ve fully expected at that time. Some deep, forgotten instinct had warned me that something would happen that last night at our house but I considered myself to be paranoid, so I didn’t listen. How I wish I would’ve listened to that small voice.

But, of course, I had buried my instincts so far under the surface of doubt that they couldn’t have spoken out loud even if they wanted to. Instead, I relied on my body to detect the danger. I suppose that that is the exact reason why I wasn’t prepared.

The stench of the humans and demons that came to capture me that night is the thing that I remember the most. It came across my nose on an updraft somewhere in the furnace as the heat kicked in. I remember the smell waking me so abruptly that I jumped up, my paws smearing the mud from that day’s work across Cartoonz’s clean blankets. My first reaction was one of dismay until I realized the reason why I had woken up in the first place.

It was right around that time, the time where the first thought of “Oh shit” went through my head, that I heard the doors downstairs crash open and what sounded like hundreds of feet stormed their way towards the room I was staying in.

Immediately, I jumped off of the bed and ran to one of our escape hatches built into the walls of every room in the house. All of them lead to the same passageway that interlaced the entire infrastructure of our house, the paths weaving between the walls of every room and leading down to the basement- our stronghold. There, I would’ve been protected from most anything had I made it.

The sounds of the people throwing every piece of furniture around in an effort to find anyone who happened to be in the house crashed all around me, accompanied by the petrified reverberations of my breathing as the walls constricted around me on my way to safety.

It was the demons that caught me in my panic.

I had managed to shimmy my way down to the first floor, near the kitchen,  when a massive paw with longs claws smashed through the wall just above my head. The feeling of those elongated weapons slashing across my side didn’t stop me as the paw withdrew. However, before I could get another inch further, a similar paw shattered the wall just in front of me and also retreated, but not before clipping my muzzle with its claws as well. I remember promising myself that the next paw to come through, I would bite it off. It wasn’t a paw that came through next though.

Without warning, a gigantic dog head broke through the wall just above me and snatched me out of the passageway by my back. The feeling of the wall slamming against me as I got yanked out of its protective shield stunned me for a split second before I lashed out, slicing my claws through the dog’s muscular chest. The dog dropped me in a momentary lapse of astonishment and pain.

The scene that unfolded in front of me as soon as I hit the ground surprised me so much that my reaction was delayed when a werecat dashed out from the entryway at the side of the kitchen and slammed itself straight into my side. So many colors flashed across my eyes as each person’s soul stabbed at my vision. I tried to squeeze my eyes shut or focus on the soul of my attacker but nothing worked.

I hesitated as the werecat pummeled my side for a moment before hauling myself up and turning to snap at the square face trying to get a hold of my neck. With an indignant hiss, the werecat lashed out with one massive paw and caught my across the side of my face. I let my head snap to the side, my body following suit, just as my tail whipped around and slapped the thick-furred cat across the face with razor-like accuracy.

My tail itself tingled with how hard it hit the werecat’s face. Within one moment and the next, the werecat spun away from me and was suddenly replaced by the white-furred Dog Demon who had caught me in the wall, his giant paws stained with my blood and wooden slivers. I focused all of my attention on those details as the dog lunged for me.

I quickly sidestepped the lumbering animal and slammed my head into his leg as he passed. The dog yelped and spun to face me again but not before the werecat pounced on me from behind. I ducked under the cat’s belly and let out a ferocious snarl as I lunged upwards and sank my teeth into one of its hind legs.

As expected, I was met with a thick layer of coarse fur, too thick for my fangs to get past. So, with a determined growl, I used brute force instead, ripping its leg out from underneath it as it landed and shoulder slamming it into the ground. The cat yowled in pain as I let go and spun to meet the dog as he charged me.

The force of the canine’s body colliding with mine took my breath away as I got carried off of my feet. With a snarl, I latched onto the dog's white, muscular body and began slashing at it with my claws just before he slammed me into a wall.

Winded, I paused before darting out from under the dog’s gaping jaws and twisting to snap my fangs around the top of his muzzle. I bit down hard, the dog howling in pain as he threw his head back. Even when the dog stepped on my tail and yanked his head away from me, I clung to my claim.

I felt and heard the skin and flesh on his muzzle bunch up and tear away from the demon’s skull as I got pulled away. The feeling of my teeth scraping across the dog's bones grated on my ears even as I fell to the ground, my tail a prisoner under the dog’s paw.

Its howls of pain became even more defined and louder as I dropped to the ground. From my vantage point, I gazed upon the mutilated muzzle above me for a second before tearing my tail free from its imprisonment.

Just as I made to run, the werecat rushed me and snapped its jaws around my back, its elongated sabre-like fangs puncturing holes deep in between my ribs.

I shrieked in agony and struggled to escape but the cat's fangs held my spine perfectly still.

“Stop! We need him alive!” Someone, one of the many humans who had gathered in the kitchen to watch, shouted.

The werecat paused for a moment before dropping me. As soon as I hit the ground, I flipped onto my back and lunged for the exposed throat above me. I couldn’t quite fit my narrow jaws around the thick neck but I was able to get a good enough hold to throw my body weight up as my tail hardened and slammed against the werecat’s legs.

With a startled yowl of surprise, the werecat twisted and fell onto its back despite its efforts to stay up. Once I was confident that I had it pinned, I reached up and sliced several frenzied scratches across its throat, my claws only coming up with thick clumps of fur.

Triumph seeped out from under the werecat’s skin when it realized I couldn't harm it. It wasn't my first time fighting a werecat though. I knew their fur would be thick enough to block most of the damage. Perhaps this one’s overconfidence in this fact was why it was so easy to kill it as I adjusted my fangs ever so slightly to the spot of fur that I’d cleared out and bit down as hard as I could.

The dying screams were nothing new but they were still unsettling as blood splattered across my face, my fangs slicing through the werecat’s jugular vein. Its body twitched and scrambled to get away for several moments before finally lying still.

A moment of silence passed as my attackers seemed to understand exactly what just happened. A sense of animalistic malevolence burned through me as I lifted my head to face the others.

Before anybody could pull up their defenses again, I unleashed a war cry and streaked towards the Dog Demon, who seemed so profoundly startled that he barely had any reaction as I jumped onto his back, tearing at him with newfound strength.

My endeavors were halted when several gunshots soared over my head. With a growl, I jumped down, taking cover behind the Dog Demon. However, just as my paws hit the ground, the dog fled, crashing through the walls of the house, into the early winter morning. With it gone, the humans themselves began attacking me- although they couldn't do much considering they weren’t supposed to kill me.

Striking out, I fought many of the people there wounding and slaughtering anyone who dared stand in my way. Anger at the way that they destroyed our house, the one that we had dedicated to peace and comfort, gave me strength for a while. However, as is expected, my endurance slowly depleted and I felt the air in my lungs, my very life sustenance, begin to suffocate me. Or perhaps it was blood in my lungs at that point.

My claws and fangs sunk into several bodies, most of which never moved again afterwards. It wasn’t until my side exploded with pain that I started to slow down a little. I yelped as a second bullet hit me in the thigh and turned my attention to the half of the room that had started shooting.

I remember hearing a human distinctly yell the word “fire” and, from there, I don’t remember anything but the feeling of my body smashing through walls and several sharp pains exploding through my sides, my face, and my chest as I ran away from my attackers, into the wilderness beyond.

I don’t think I ever noticed the darts. Hell, I barely noticed the bullets. The darts meant nothing to me.

I’m not sure where I lost the bandana with my omega symbol on it but, somewhere between fighting and running, it came loose from around my neck and I never saw it again.

As soon as I was far enough away from the house, I dropped down in the snow and curled up into a ball, hoping that my slowly fading white winter coat would hide me. There was one thing I didn't plan for as I lay there though.

The snow covered my back and came up around my shoulders as I rolled around and then burrowed into the freezing material to hide my blood and the black markings around my legs and face. There was nothing I could do to hide the designs on my tail so I covered my face with it and snuggled down further into the ice cold snow.

I thought nothing of it at first but, as my adrenaline faded and exhaustion began to take over, I quickly realized that something was horribly wrong.

On top of feeling the fatigue of the fight, I found that I could no longer feel my paws, which wouldn’t have seemed so bad if the next feeling to go wasn’t my chest.

Suddenly, I felt my heart rate begin dropping at an alarming pace. I tried to get up to shake off the increasing panic in my body but the outer shell of my existence refused to move. As panic flooded through my body, my instincts immediately jumped to the surface, forcing me into overdrive. Not even that worked though.

I flushed every system in my body with potent adrenaline, hoping to spark some sort of resistance but nothing worked. If anything, it made the situation worse. Where the adrenaline raged through my body, the poison followed, clinging to the chemicals and spreading even faster. Soon, the poison reached my brain and my conscience became faded until I finally fell asleep.

I’m not sure when they found me or how they transported me from there. The only thing I knew was that, the next time I woke up, it was to the stench of sickness and suffering and the unforgiving gray walls of a human lab.

And so, I sat there, through hours, days, and weeks, soon a victim of months of torture and the frozen architecture of the glorious waterfall back in our territory cracked.

**_Two weeks ago_ **

_Heavy, agonizing pain seared my flesh as I rose from my dream in a daze. The sounds of almost a hundred demons groaning in pain and fear greeted my ears, efficiently bringing me back to where I was._

_It was dark, meaning it was either night time or the guards had purposely turned off the lights. For some of us, the darkness made us insane. I wasn't one of them; Delirious’ soul had exposed me to the greatest darkness there was. The people who were afraid though never stopped complaining, or screaming in some cases. Perhaps that's why I woke up that night. Or, maybe, just maybe, my instincts woke me up._

_Either way, when I woke up, I soon became aware of someone standing on the other side of my cage door. Of course, I couldn't see them though. Ever since I was brought to the lab, greeted by souls full of malice and destruction, I made sure to keep my eyes closed at all times. Half asleep and drugged out of my mind, I only caught bits and pieces of what the person said for a while before everything started to make sense._

_“I'm so sorry Ohm. I didn't realize what they were doing. I never even thought that Delirious was one of_ them _. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.” The person’s voice whispered to me and, for a moment, I could've sworn I’d heard it before._

_I shifted to get closer to the voice and, before I could think about it, I pushed my muzzle through the bars of my cage and set my nose against the leg that I sensed was on the other side. The person made a quiet sound of surprise before a hand was suddenly pressed through the fur on my head._

_I'm not sure why, but this person seemed trustworthy to me in my half drugged/half tortured state, which is strange to say the least. In any case, I listened patiently to the person as they spoke to me. So far as I could tell, it was a male and his voice held a deep soulful note to it, one that was so distinctly unique and yet I couldn’t quite remember where I knew it from._

_“They took them Ohm. They took my kids. They took my wife. She's doing all she can to protect them but it's not enough. I had to give them something to buy some time. I knew you guys could hold your own if you were all together. I never thought that you'd be the one to get dragged in here or that you’d be alone. I'm so sorry.”_

_I lifted my head away from the cage as the faint din of some keys jingling nearby greeted my ears. At first, I shrunk from the sound, thinking it to be the guards coming back to pull me out and run some more tests, but I soon realized that the sound was coming from the person in front of me, the one that I so trusted. I moved towards the sound eagerly, careful to keep my eyes closed in my excitement._

_However, before the keys could reach their destination, the person stopped and the jingling became muffled as they stuck the keys back in their pocket. I let out a small whine before the sound of heavy combat boots resounded through my ears. Quickly, the presence in front of me disappeared and I shrunk back down into the confines of my cage._

_For a moment, the boots stopped where I sensed there was a space at the end of the cages. A bright light shined down the hall in front of me and then, seemingly satisfied that no one was there, the guard continued on._

_I frowned, mystified by my companion’s disappearance, when, suddenly, the person appeared once more in front of me. Turning my head up towards it, I tried to give it a questioning look._

_The message seemed to come across because the air shifted, as if the person shrugged._

_“I know my way around this place. Anyway, I’m going to get you out of here but I can’t do it right now. I was hoping to sneak out past the guards tonight but they must have switched up the schedule. It’s too dangerous right now but I know that their is an absolute 100% chance that there will be an opening right before dawn. That’s in the next few hours. You have to be ready to go. I can get you out past the guards and to the forest away from any patrols that will show up. From there, you’ll be on your own for the most part though. I can’t go too far and I can’t risk them finding out that I’m doing this. My family’s safety comes first and this could put all of us in danger, not just you. I have to think of the bigger picture._

_“There is a group of people that will be waiting for you about a mile out from where I will leave you. You will have to go to them and hopefully they can help you. Trust them. This isn’t the first time they’ve broken someone out of here. They’ll take you away from here. I can't help everyone but I can help you and maybe you can help me help these guys here. Do you understand what the plan is?”_

_I paused before nodding slowly._

_“Good. Wait here then. I’ll be back soon. Make sure you’re ready.”_

_And, with that, the person left on hurried feet._

_I waited for hours for him to come back. In the meantime, my body kicked into overdrive as I began restitching all of my bones back together. Each molecule was distinct and unique. Therefore, creating them in my state and reattaching them turned out to be extremely difficult, like trying to thread a thousand needles at once when you’re half asleep._

_The process was slow and agonizing at first but it soon picked up speed until I had efficiently made temporary heals to most of the bones in my body. The flesh, I had no time for. There were too many cuts, too many bruises, too many holes for me to patch up, especially when it came to the gigantic scorch marks across my legs and my back. So, I simply fixed the bones and made minimal heals to my other wounds before I took a short nap in preparation for dawn._

_The person from earlier came back soon after, as promised. His scent, so familiar and yet so far from what I could remember, lulled me back into the present._

_Shaking my head, I took deep breaths and tested my newly healed bones as I stood. My cage limited my movement so I couldn’t stand completely without my spine brushing the cold metal above me but I took the chance to stretch anyway._

_“We gotta hurry.” The person’s voice muttered, barely concealed panic making his speech shaky. The faint jingle of the keys that I had heard earlier echoed through the metal around me._

_“I was right. They changed the schedule. I just hope I can still get you out and get back in time for my shift without raising any suspicions.”_

_There was a brief pause before I heard the scraping of the locking mechanism unhinging. The air in front of me shifted and, for a moment, I was afraid. Afraid of what would happen if this plan failed and afraid that I would be too alienated, too different, too broken to return to the outer world._

_I quickly reminded myself though that this would be my only chance at escaping either way. So, with a shaky breath, I crawled my way out of the cage on dysfunctional legs._

_Before I could react, I felt a pair of strong, burly arms wrap around me with a mother’s sense of gentleness. I made to growl at the person, my eyes opening ever so slightly as I twisted but stopped when I glimpsed the person’s soul._

_I didn't recognize it at the time but I would eventually. Either way, what I saw therein assured me that this person was a good person._

_The man leaned away from me as I gave him a less malevolent warning growl. He made an apologetic face._

_“I know. It’s uncomfortable but I have to carry you out. It'll be easier to hide you and you need to conserve your energy for the second half of your trip.”_

_I huffed a growl before turning my head away and reluctantly shifting my body to a more comfortable position so that the man's arms didn't press against my newly formed ribs._

_“Ready?” He asked. I gave a curt nod._

_With that, the man’s hold tightened around me and I was hoisted off of the ground with surprising ease. A muffled yelp echoed around the cages around me as the man pulled me towards his chest, the heavy bullet proof vest around his body unintentionally pressing against my burn marks._

_“Sorry.” The man apologized while he tried to shift me into a more comfortable position as he walked away, being sure to stay low to the ground. After a moment of struggling and walking, he got me into a spot where I was in less pain but my wounds made me wince and grimace nonetheless._

_With quick, measured steps, the man trotted out with me in his arms, checking every corner we came to. Underneath his vest, I could hear his heart hammering away at his chest as we continued on. Several times, we almost got caught by the guards on duty. However, as the person stated once before, he knew his way around the place, ducking into little, hidden crevices every time we came too close to the guards._

_I watched and listened through half lidded eyes as the person made his way through the halls with practiced, yet terrified, precision. It suddenly occurred to me that he had walked these halls for who knows how long trying to figure out how exactly he was going to get me out and yet he was still filled with fear, so potent that I could smell it coming off of him in droves._

_Somehow, after several minutes of dodging and weaving around the guards, we made it to the vent that was supposed to lead our way out of the building. Agony exploded through me with newfound vengeance as the man pulled me away from his body and set me on the ground near the vent’s entrance._

_Aware of the need for silence but still in excruciating pain, I rolled on the ground for a second with my mouth hanging open in a silent scream. When it became obvious that rolling around wasn’t helping, I stopped and went limp for a second as the pain drew itself slowly through what seemed like every inch of my body._

_“Ohm? Ohm! Are you okay? I’m so sorry.” The man whispered in a harsh voice._

_I raised my arm ever so slightly and waved at him with my paw, signifying that he should keep going. Luckily, he seemed to understand as he turned to the vent and began working to get the metal crate over top of the entrance off._

_Meanwhile, I tried desperately to catch my breath but, every time I breathed in, it was like the air refused to come back out so my chest simply expanded further and further until I couldn’t draw in any more air. Thinking fast, I quickly rolled over and began prodding at my ribs, trying to figure out the problem. I realized suddenly that there was a small, fragmented piece of my rib cage that I had created earlier sticking into the flesh of my lungs. Working fast, I ripped the molecules apart and began restitching them into their correct place._

_Once I finished, I sucked in a deep breath, fresh air slashing at my lungs. With a stifled cough, I turned over and slowly sat up, mentally checking the other bones I had created for any other flaws. No other problems were obvious but I knew that I would have to get more help if I wanted to be able to use the bones properly again, especially when it came to my legs._

_“Are you ready?” The man asked as I looked up at him. The vent cover had been taken completely off and he crouched at its entrance._

_I took another deep breath before nodding vigorously. The man sighed before moving out of the way and motioning me through._

_“You have to go alone. I can't fit so I'll get through and meet you on the other side. Wait for me.”_

_I groaned a little before carefully maneuvering around him and plunging into the darkness of the vent. It was so dark in fact that I had to open my eyes even more just so I could move without stumbling over my own feet, which wouldn't have been hard considering the vent brushed against my back and thus constricted my movements._

_I suddenly understood why the man didn't come with. The vent was much too small for me. The man probably would’ve only been able to fit a single shoulder and his head into the vent._

_My claws clicked across the metal as I crawled my way through, the pads of my paws slipping every once in a while as I made my way through._

_At one point, I glanced over my shoulder only to be greeted with nothing but darkness. A moment of panic threatened to overwhelm me but I pushed it away in favor of getting out as fast as possible._

_Eventually, that mind set ended up turning into even more of a claustrophobic panic though as I quickly ushered myself through the vent. Between the upset of my mind and the pain already in my body, I didn't ever realize the small cuts made in my skin every time I scraped too fast and too hard by the nails around the walls of the tunnel. My only goal was to get out._

_When it got to the point where I thought that I would go insane if I had to endure a moment more of darkness, I turned a corner and, suddenly, the exit of the tunnel yawned open in the darkness. I moved towards it with purpose but paused at the edge when I realized that there was about a ten foot drop from the vent to the ground._

_For a moment, I considered waiting for the man in the opening but that thought was shot down when a light from a guard’s flashlight shined brightly just over my head. It paused above me before disappearing to the ground a little ways off._

_Taking a deep breath, I swallowed my fear and, without a second thought, tumbled head first out of the tunnel. For a terrifying moment, I felt nothing but the rush of the air. Then, my back exploded as it hit the ground, driving the air from my lungs._

_Once again, I was left writhing in silent agony, my recently healed bones fragmenting in several places. My breath came to me in half suffocated gasps as I tried to re-heal everything once more._

_My strength faded quicker than I would've liked as I made my bones and healed them once more. I think I passed out for a bit after that because, when I opened my eyes again, the stars had lost some of their brilliance and the sun had just tinged the horizon purple._

_It was around this time that the bushes rustled next to me and a familiar face appeared above me. For a moment, I gazed into the person's soul before closing my eyes._

_“I guess I forgot to warn you about that drop. I apologize. Come on though. Get up. We gotta hurry.” My liberator spoke urgently._

_I hissed in protest before rolling over and standing on unsteady feet._

_“I can't carry you because I might have to talk the guards away from your trail. You just gotta be strong, alright?”_

_I groaned before flicking my head in the direction that I assumed we'd be heading. The man sighed before standing and checking that the coast was clear. With a deft hand, he motioned for me to follow him and led me away, half crouched._

_We made our way through the forest on hurried feet, once again dodging any ray of light that came anywhere near us and avoiding the many patrols strewn throughout the area._

_Thus, we made quick progress to the place where the man intended to leave me before stopping. Crouched in the bushes, the man put a careful hand on my shoulder as he looked into my eyes._

_I opened my eyes to look back at him, staring deep into his soul and drinking in the purity of his intentions despite the outer ring of regret and sadness._

_“I never meant it Ohm. If I never see you again, know that I never meant any ill will. Know that I protected my family to my last breath, even at the cost of my soul. I suppose that you would know about that anyway though, wouldn't you?”_

_I frowned at the person’s words. Once he finished speaking, I lifted my head and nudged his hand. He smiled a little and ran both of his hands over my head and my ears._

_“Protect yourself Ohm. Don't come back here. Even if you do, don't bring Cartoonz. Definitely don't bring Squirrel either. Most of all though, don't let Delirious step within a hundred feet of this place. Trust me when I say that it may be the last thing he ever does.”_

_I stared up at the person, baffled by how he knew about the other three even when they remained as blurry images in my head, concepts with no manifestations. Sometime during my imprisonment, I had been utterly convinced that those three never existed at all. The man’s words confirmed that they did though. A new urge to find them again sang through my veins as the man stood and turned away from me._

_“You’re on your own from here. I can't do anything else. That group I was telling you about is waiting for you and two others about a mile out. Get to them and they'll help you.”_

_The man paused after telling me this and looked over his shoulder at me. He smiled in what I assumed was supposed to be a comforting gesture but which turned out more like a grimace before turning around._

_“Goodbye Ohm.” Those were the last words I heard as he pushed his way through the bushes, back to the lab._

_For a moment, I sat pondering who the man had been and why he wanted to help me. The sound of a group of soldiers coming towards me from somewhere off to the side though spurred me from my momentary lapse of melancholy regret._

_Pushing through my pain with a set jaw, I aimed straight for the group the man had pointed out, my speed picking up now that I was alone and almost free._

_The sun greeted me with the kind of blinding excitement of an energetic friend who hasn’t seen you in a long time. The smell of freshly crushed pine needles chased away the stench of the lab in my nose and, for a moment, I could’ve believed that everything would be alright, especially as the sounds of the resistance group I was supposed to meet grew closer._

_Soon though, the first gunshot rang through the forest. A sickening twist in my gut stopped me in my tracks as a hundred more shots crackled through the morning air, staining the horizon red._

_With horror, I caught a glimpse of the camp I was supposed to be at through the trees. As I watched, people began running towards me, humans and demons alike, as they scattered from the onslaught of bullets coming from the soldiers. Their screams lit the morning air with a new, violent vitality._

_One demon, a jackal, nearly trampled me as she ran from the scene. She tripped over my leg and hit the ground with surprise._

_“_ Run _!” She hissed just as her blood splattered across my face._

_Yelping, I jumped up and ran. The sounds of the dying screams of agony as the resistance fighters reached for their loved ones echoed through my ears as I raced to put as much distance between me and them as possible. The guilt and sorrow that ensued in my heart thereafter plagued me for years to come as the waterfall thawed and my destiny swept on, crushing the winter plants in a vicious display of dominance._

**_A few days ago_ **

These were the main memories that kept me awake for the two weeks that I spent in the wilderness after I was released. My body never allowed me to sleep. Sleeping meant death in my state as my health deteriorated. The longer I went without sleep though, the less energy I had to stay awake let alone try and heal myself.

Perhaps it was this slow degeneration that drew me to that place- the place that reminded me so much of home and, most of all, Delirious.

It was a slow process trying to stumble my way to the territory but I eventually made it after dodging several patrols of humans and demons alike as they swept the area.

 _If I can get there, I should be safe_. That was the only thought that kept me moving despite the pain I was in.

The mends that I had made to my bones were only meant to be temporary. Therefore, as I walked, I could feel the molecules lose their strength and begin to crumble under my weight. My wounds reopened nearly every day and I could feel infections pooling within their crevices as each day passed. The muscles in every single part of my body, no matter how minute, ached with the effort of holding myself up and there was nothing I could do to relieve them.

In my state, it was no wonder that I never consciously recognized the reasons that I was suddenly drawn to this enchanted place. However, I continued on relentlessly nonetheless.

There is one memory that sticks out to me when I try to remember how I got there though: the panther couple.

Sometime during what I assumed to be nighttime- although I could’ve mistaken the back of my eyelids for the darkness of the night- I remember coming across a small cabin in the woods. For a moment, I considered going in and asking for help but something stopped me.

So, I sat in the bushes for a little bit, waiting for any signs of life and any hints as to why I shouldn't ask for help. My answer soon came to me in the form of two black panthers.

The first to come through the trees was a tall, stocky panther with blue designs across his shoulders. From him, I sensed a lurking power crackling underneath his pelt. It was his companion that set my fur on end though.

The other panther came out of the trees with a smile across his face. He was a little shorter than the first but his muscles rippled under his pelt in a fascinating display of power. The red designs on his chin, his face, and his shoulders glowed ever so slightly in the dim moonlight.

During my time in the human lab, I had learned how to better control my abilities to see the souls of those around me, mostly for my own sanity. It was harder than it sounds, like cutting off your toes without your hands and then trying to walk, but I managed. The souls of the panther couple, however, glowed so brightly that I could not ignore what I saw in them.

In both the panthers, a red ball speared through by a white light shined within the confines of both of their chests. The bond exuded a fierce power and I realized that these two were not only soulmates but actual mates as well.

A pang of jealousy rose from the beta in me, which I pushed down vehemently. Once the feeling passed, I found that I had already begun analyzing their souls.

Eventually, I found the source of my unease.

Deep within the confines of their souls, almost completely hidden by several layers of goofy personalities and practical jokes, I caught a glimpse of two symbols. The symbols were of two looping figures with dots inside the circles. These were familiar to me and it took a moment for me to understand why.

With a jolt, I stood and began walking away. The two panthers were assassins. It was no wonder I had been wary about getting help from them. They would probably kill me first chance they got or take me prisoner. Either way, I knew I had to continue away from them.

I suppose it was sometime the next afternoon that I finally got up the nerve to enter the territory that I was being drawn towards. For hours, I paced around the edge of it, too afraid to enter but getting weaker by the second at that point.

I knew there were several spells that affected how I saw the borders but, after a little experimenting, I was able to bypass those and many others. Appreciation for the spells and their intricately woven nature baffled me to no end as I sorted through each one and worked on making myself a hole to get through.

Once inside though, I was met with an oppressive force that tried smashing my conscience into a small box. It took me an hour or two to figure out how to bypass the worst of the immobilizing spells before I got it to the point where I could walk around without feeling too much pain.

However, somewhere in my short venture into the enchanted place, I realized that, the further I got into the heart of the territory, the more the spells refused to allow me to heal myself. Soon, my wounds began bleeding excessively.

With a sigh, I turned and left, partially hoping that I had done the right thing in leaving my scent within the borders and that someone would find me.

On my way out, I practically tripped over a mouse. Luckily, it didn't take much to dispatch it before I carried it the rest of the way over the border and into a bush on the other side. After checking that no one had followed me, I began chowing down on the small morsel, glad that it was small since I knew my stomach couldn't fit much else.

I’m not entirely sure what happened but I must have fainted or fallen asleep while eating. When I woke up next, it was beginning to get dark and I sensed an uncanny sort of malice approaching me. Thinking that it was the panther assassins on their way to kill me, I quickly got up and continued a little ways away from the territory with my mouse in my jaws, leaving part of its fur and a giant pool of blood in my wake.

Soon, I lost the people and, with what little energy I had left, I began patching up my wounds. It hadn't even occurred to me to do so until I realized that my paws were covered in way too much blood for it to just have come from the mouse.

This became more of a problem when I recognized that the people were following me again. Sighing, I got up and continued north, careful to hide my scent and check every few feet for bleeding.

Eventually, just as the midnight hue of the night began to fade, I found a cave in the northern border and curled up in it.

The next day, I woke up sometime in the late morning and hurried to the other side of the border, to the eastern side. I was quite surprised to see that these people had ingeniously placed their enchantments of a one way mirror over a waterfall. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt like I had seen a waterfall similar to that one before but I couldn't quite remember from where.

I quickly left that day as well when I realized that the enchantments had increased in power and the infections in my wounds were beginning to rot away more and more of my flesh.

**_The next day_ **

The pain was so excruciating that next day that I recklessly decided to force my way into the territory without concern as to why or how these people would react. Either way, I knew I wouldn't be able to wake up again if I went to sleep that night.

So, desperate, afraid, and confused, I made my way into the territory that afternoon and began actively searching for _someone_. I didn’t understand who I was looking for or if there was someone specifically that I was looking for but I knew that I had to get help.

Either way, I sank into my instincts more than usual as I searched, allowing them to lead me to where I needed to go.

I chased the scents of several people as they passed the borders on patrols but, after a certain point, I was never able to follow them. I assumed this was because of the stronger enchantments around the heart of the territory.

By night time, I still hadn’t found anyone and I steadily began losing hope as my limbs failed me at ever increasing intervals. Eventually, it got to the point where I stumbled every ten seconds; I know because I timed myself for awhile just to keep myself busy.

There was a moment where my resolve depleted after I tripped for the thousandth time that night and, when I hit the ground, I didn't bother picking myself back up.

Feeling half dead- which wasn't far from the truth- and not willing to continue on, I laid there, my thoughts drifting to half formed impressions. Somewhere in my mind, I recognized that I had brought myself to a clearing in which a small stream had carved a path through the ground.

With a groan, I crawled over and began lapping at the cool water. It didn't make sense to me at the time but, with only half of an instinct to do so, I pushed myself into the water and began rolling around. The small pebbles under the surface scraped against my wounds but I suddenly realized that my instinct had been to clean my wounds of infection without using any molecular regeneration. I could at least halfway accomplish this with the rocks.

Gritting my teeth, I made sure to wash most of my body in the water and, for a moment, I felt alive again. However, as I crawled back out of the water, my willpower failed me once more and I felt the watchful eyes of Death begin to hover over my body.

I'm not sure what drew them towards me. I would later learn that neither of them believed in destiny or that their instincts could ever do anything good for them.

In any case, I remember, in my half dazed state, how the group came towards me. At the time, there was four of them. However, I assume that when they caught a whiff of my scent, they split into pairs.

I was only able to sense this through my mind which I had been subconsciously pressing outwards to find help. My physical senses were far too dull at that point for me to have smelled them or heard them. After all, they had still been some distance away from me when I felt their minds barely brush mine.

   The leopard and tiger were the ones to come to me though. The other two disappeared before I could gather much information about them.

I followed the minds of the leopard and the tiger for some time as they approached me. In them, I sensed a vague amount of fear and curiosity as well as an underlying current of unease; the unease was mostly directed towards each other though.

Soon, I physically heard their heavy paws smashing through the undergrowth. They seemed to pause for a second, then, like the sounds of the outer world rushing to meet me as I came up out of the water, their minds became clearer to me and I got an impression of their thoughts as they passed the tree line, into my clearing.

“ _Is it dead_ ? _I think it's dead. It must be. No one can survive something like that. That has to be a corpse._ ”

At some point, I suddenly realized that the person was talking about me. Reaching out a tendril of thought towards it, I groped for the mind that began approaching me, its long, thick legs carrying itself to my side.

 _Who are you_? I thought but the words never escaped me.

Then, as if I had offended all the gods on all the planets, I pressed against the mind of the speaker and, suddenly, my mind was scorched with agony as old wounds reopened to expose the raw nerve underneath. Immediately, my body became alight with newfound suffering, my skin scrambling to tear itself away from the muscles surrounding my bones in an effort to escape from the cruel torment of my pain.

I squirmed in terror as the speaker came closer to me, their oppressive force shoving me further into the ground. Gradually, as the person approached, a sense of fear and horror permeated from it which only served to increase the fire in my mind. My aching body put up no fight to it either, its defenses depleted in the face of fatigue and anguish. The sickness of my heart refused to let me get up even though I had somehow managed to light my mind on fire. Externally, I didn’t move. Internally, I felt like it would be better to die than to live with the pain I was in at that moment.

I assume that it was that exact thought that sent the demon in me into overdrive, the enormous presence heaving itself up through years of burials to help me. Although, as soon as it did so, I was suddenly thrown away from the controls and the energy in my body surged to the point where my mind _and_ my body were now ablaze with the heat of a thousand fires. At the same time, the presence of the other person’s mind ramming unintentionally against my conscious created a deafening panic throughout my mind.

As newfound vibrancy founded on agony exploded through every fiber of the entirety of my existence, I felt my body lurch upright. The motion was so abrupt and disorienting that I stumbled and fell to the floor of my mind in a puddle of jelly-like affliction.

Without a second thought, I stabbed out with my conscience at the leopard, who now had his back turned to me. I struck viciously and without relent in the few seconds it took me to get up and race across the clearing, launching myself into the air. In that same moment, my mind briefly brushed against a second conscience.

“ _MINI_!” The tiger screeched, unleashing a frightening roar.

The feeling of another body colliding with mine reverberated through my body as I slammed into the long leopard beneath me. As soon as the feeling of his fur touched my paws, my head snapped forward instinctively, my fangs sinking into the soft flesh of what I deduced was the neck of the animal. Encouraged by my accuracy, I let out a vicious snarl, the force of the impact throwing both of us into the ground.

I continued to stab the person with my mind in an effort to get the fire in my body to stop as my teeth sunk further into the muscle of his neck. The next time I struck out at him, I recognized one clear, defined thought under the dread and hysteria of his mind.

“ _Death by corpse… How ironic._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Laughs evilly* I've had the last part of this chapter written since I started writing this story at the beginning of the summer in June. Yes, I do feel bad for putting Ohm through so much angst and torture… literally, but it was necessary~
> 
> Now, I have left you guys on a cliff hanger and, although I do have most of next chapter written, I am going to wait a few days before posting it. I no longer have Internet at my house though so I'm not sure when exactly it’ll be uploaded but Chapter 9 should be ready by the end of the week. Other than that, I don't have much else to say besides stay tuned~
> 
> I did use a quote in this chapter when OhmToonz talked and it’s from a Rainbow Six Seige: Health video on Cartoonz’s channel titled “Ruuuuudy!”. If you guys can find me the time and which quote it was, I would be very impressed :D
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  WARNINGS: Major violence and frequent mentions of injuries will be included in this chapter
> 
> Hello everyone~ I hope you're having a fantabulous day/night :D
> 
> The only thing that I must mention for this chapter is the concept of having demonic eyes. When a person gives into their demon blood- their most basic instincts- the color of their eyes will invert. We saw this in the second chapter with Zephyra. Basically, the pupil and iris colors switch places. In Zephyra’s case, this meant that the outer edges of her eyes were black and her pupil was blue. That’s all that it means.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Moo’s Perspective**

_At the Same Time_

   The first thing that Brian and I heard was the echoing roar of a tiger. It was the kind of roar that set my fur on end and pulled at all the triggers in my brain, making my spine go rigid. Then, before I knew it, I was racing through the trees, forgetting the day’s fatigue, my eyes tunneling towards the thundering impact of a battle. Never once did it occur to me to look for Brian in my hurry to find out what was wrong. My only focus was the fast approaching sounds of war.

   I burst through the tree line with a frenzy of green leaves swirling around me. Blights of brown swam through my vision, marking the existence of several broken branches that flew into the scene which marred my first meeting with Fate.

   The first things that registered in my eyes were Mini lying on the ground howling in pain while Tyler’s hulking figure roared in outrage. At first, I thought it was some sort of ermin or ferret clinging to the tiger’s striped back. Even afterwards, I couldn’t quite make out what the skinny creature was. The only thing that I understood in my adrenaline filled mind was the stench of blood and the moldy smell of rotting flesh.

   Immediately, I launched myself across the open stretch of grass and flung myself onto the creature.

   To my horror, what I was met with wasn’t flesh in the least. The body underneath me practically clicked against my claws and fangs in a way that felt so horribly wrong. Then again, I quickly realized that everything about the creature in general was wrong as I drug it off of Tyler’s back.

   As soon as we landed on the ground, I sprung away from the limp body, towards the others, like a child jumping out of bed and running to their parents after a nightmare. In the back of my mind, I clung to the small bond that connected me to Evan and, through him, everyone else in the pack. Somewhere in that strand of thought, I sensed that Mini, Tyler, and Brian, who had shown up in the past few seconds, were doing the same.

   All four of us shrunk away from the creature with varying hisses of disgust and fear.

   “ _What the hell is that thing_?” I hissed. My brain short circuited for a moment as I smacked my lips together, the smell of poisons and sedatives dousing my tongue and my head with an onslaught of memories from the human lab.

   As if my voice had awoken it, the pile of bones rose like a zombie from the grave. It drug itself up into a sitting position with a stumbling sort of movement. For a second, its sunken face looked vaguely confused.

   In that same second, I realized four things about the creature. 1) It’s eyes, their colors seemingly inverted, glowed eerily in the full moon’s light meaning that this demon was running on nothing but pure instinct. 2) Its bones showed under the stretched skin of its body as if someone had simply draped a rug over a skeleton. 3) Its body was twisted in several places making it look like a jumbled stack of unsorted dinosaur bones. 4) I was starting to realize that this creature had the exposed anatomy of a fox.

   With a sickening twist, the fox untangled its legs out from under its body. It appeared half dead before me and, at that moment, I thought that it shouldn’t be alive considering how much dirt and who knew what else was stuck to its fur- if it even had fur at this point. Either way, it shouldn’t have been moving around period because it was deep in the heart of our territory where our spells should have affected it the most.

   These thoughts were thrown aside as something, maybe a leaf moving in the breeze, triggered the foxes reflexes and, suddenly, it was rushing us with baffling speed. I instinctively jumped aside to avoid the hurtling missile but someone else wasn’t so lucky.

   Another alarm shrieked to life in my head as a loud, startled yowl echoed through the air. I turned just in time to see the fox latch onto Brian’s foreleg. Immediately, I rushed forward to help him only to stall mid stride when the fox yanked its head back with torrential force, effectively screwing up Brian’s footing. Then, it whipped its hind end and its hardened tail straight into Brian’s other foreleg. I couldn’t help but sit back and watch in horrified fascination.

   Brian tried to rear on his hind legs in an effort to get away with a howl of fear and pain. I let out a warning hiss but it was too late. As soon as Brian’s under belly was exposed, the fox let go of the leg it had claimed in its teeth and slammed its narrow head into the werecat’s sternum. There was an appalling crunch of bone as Brian crumbled to the ground, gasping for air.

   Tyler reacted before I could, rushing forward to bat at the foxes hindquarters to get its attention. As expected, the small grayish beast spun to face him, its chest heaving for air and its eyes blown wide with fear and unadulterated instinct.

   With a feral snarl, it lunged forward with that daunting speed that seemed to be unique to this creature alone. Tyler dodged out of its way and spun to try and put himself in between Brian and the savage fox. The fox somehow registered this and, instead of turning back around to focus on Tyler, he sprung towards Mini with renewed speed.

   Quickly shaking myself of my astonishment, I rushed to meet the animal, knocking it out of the air with one massive paw just as it sprung at Mini, who still sat, petrified, on the ground.

   The fox’s bones clicked together on impact as it went flying sideways, into the stream nearby. For a second, there was the vague fear that I had just killed it. Then, I realized that, in our current situation, that’s kind of what we were going for.

   When it didn’t move again, I turned to Mini and cuffed him over the ears. He sputtered and crawled away from me. It was at this time that I realized that the mane of golden fur around his neck was stained with blood which gushed out in streams.

   “ _What happened_?” I snarled, more scared than angry.

   Mini started to answer before an angry caterwaul interrupted him and he turned away with a terrified screech as he clawed at his head.

   I spun to where I had last seen the fox only to see a gray blur. Pain exploded in my ribs as the fox pile drived his head into my side, knocking me to the ground. Winded, I couldn’t stop the claws and fangs from digging into my pelt as the fox ripped out carefully calculated chunks of fur from around my neck. Shock from the blows kept me pinned and then, I felt the fox’s fangs touch my skin a moment before more pain erupted just above my shoulder and the scent of my blood permeated the air. Normally, I wasn’t easily injured. A werecat’s fur is meant to be thick enough to protect them from puncture wounds. Yet, this half dead zombie fox managed to get through my defenses within seconds.

   Panicking, I thrashed back and forth, trying to get away from the crazed demon. This only made its teeth dig deeper and its claws tear further into my skin as my fear increased. After a moment, I hauled myself up and tried to shake it off but to no avail.

   Around me, I could hear the indignant roars of my pack mates trying to help me. However, I knew that they couldn’t do much even if I stayed still. If they tried to tear the fox off of me, it could result in the fox ripping out a chunk of my throat. If I couldn’t get it off, I would probably bleed out. The fox was already so close to the most vital veins in my neck that he simply had to adjust his fangs a little farther up to kill me.

   After a few more desperate thrashes, I quickly noticed that my strength was depleting at an alarming pace. So, I relaxed a little and then, before the fox could readjust, I shook my body violently until I saw its gray tail come into my vision. With another shake, the fox’s body came around as well and I lashed out to clamp my jaws around its backbone. Before I could rip it off, it let go with a loud yelp that rang in my ears.

   Startled, I dropped it to the ground halfway into ripping it off of me. Its body went skidding across the grass, creating a shallow divot where it touched down. As soon as it stopped, it stretched up towards the moon, its mouth hanging open, and began screaming its agony to the world in a voice that sounded so distinctly human that it made my spine bunch as I let out an involuntary hiss. The others reacted in similar ways behind me.

   Suddenly, Mini rushed forward and began nipping at the fox’s face. He bounced around the fox in a frenzy, snapping at it in what I assumed was an effort to get it to shut up. Then, to my astonishment, he went for the throat.

   Before I could stop him, Brian rushed forward and slammed into Mini’s side, carrying him off of his feet and into the bushes a few feet away. Tyler rushed after them, inadvertently leaving me with the fox.

   I watched them disappear before focusing my attention on the danger at hand. As I scowled down at the creature, I realized that, after Mini tried to kill it, the fox had stopped its bawling and was lying on the ground, writhing in silent pain.

   I approached it cautiously with my teeth bared but it didn’t seem to register that I was creeping up on it in its agony. For a moment, I simply sat with my muscles painfully tense, waiting for it to get up again and strike. It never did. In fact, the fox seemed so distracted by his pain that he never opened his eyes. Not once did he try to look at me or even get up.

   Off in the distance, I could hear the sounds of Tyler and Brian shouting at each other from somewhere in the forest but I didn’t pay them much mind. I knew they weren’t in danger or else the fight-or-flight instincts from my beta would’ve already kicked in again. In any case, someone had to keep an eye on the fox.

   Obviously, this was the rogue that we'd been hunting. According to Evan’s plans, the pack had been keeping up on a two hour schedule to try and find this rogue. None of us had gotten much sleep. Even I could feel my body growing weaker. That didn't stop me from being as vigilant as possible with the fox though.

   For a while, the animal clawed at the ground in an effort to escape its pain. Eventually though, its strength seemed to fade and it finally lay still. I could tell it was still alive because its ribs heaved to life every few seconds. Something was terribly wrong with it though. I knew that for sure.

   Disturbed and growing evermore curious by the second, I paced around to look at the fox’s back with exercised precision. The moment I saw what I had done on top of what was already there, my stomach began revolting against me.

   After being thrown in the creek, some of the filth from the fox’s body had been washed away. It was enough for me to see that, on its back, on top of the fresh bite marks made by my fangs, the flesh seemed to have been burned away. Infection ate away at the skin all around the wounds.

   I walked to the tree line, the “huk, huk, huk” sounds already building in my chest and proceeded to vomit acidic juices all over the roots of a nearby tree. The thought of “ _that was in my mouth_ ”, followed by a general disgust of knowing what had probably happened to the fox, spurred me into several fits of spewing out my insides.

   After a while, I had nothing more to throw up. Instead, I stood there, choking on much needed air, trying to catch my breath.

   The marks were definitely human. Not only could I smell it on him when I had gotten closer, I also knew the design of the wounds. I had seen many torture techniques during my time in the human’s labs. One of the many ways was to burn people. The other one was to let wounds fester and boil. I had witnessed multiple demons in that lab who were left to their infections. Eventually, some of them just rotted away. The humans didn't care. They had plenty of others to experiment on.

   It was these thoughts and observations that led me to a semblance of understanding as to what this demon had gone through. It was no wonder that it had attacked us. Had I not been in my right mind when Evan found me, I probably would've tried to kill him too. This person was a refugee… just like I was.

   Slowly, I turned back to the fox, contemplating what I should do. After a few moments, I worked up the nerve to approach the animal again. It lay on the ground, wheezing, its eyes still shut but scrunched together as I approached. Briefly, it cracked open an eye to see me but quickly shut it again afterwards.

   I’m not sure at what point my body decided to be a beta again, but as I stalked closer to the animal, I realized that I was coated in calming pheromones. The fox seemed to register this as well as it opened its eyes again to squint at me skeptically.

   Although its eyes didn’t revert back to whatever colors they had originally been, I knew that the fox was calming down, especially if the fact that it didn’t attack me as I approached it was anything to go by. A part of me thought that it was so terribly injured that it probably couldn't move even if it had wanted, not only because of its previous wounds but also because of the ones that we had just given it. Something told me that that wouldn't stop the fox from attacking if need be though so I proceeded with caution.

   Carefully, I stooped over the battered creature and breathed in its pain and suffering under the stench of blood and infection. It was scared, as was I. A certain sense of pity threatened to overwhelm me as I gazed down at it despite the fact that this demon had just tried to kill me. I had almost killed it just now as well though.

   “ _Guess that makes us even, huh?_ ” I remarked, even though I knew communication was probably futile considering this was a canine I was speaking to and it was dazed out of its mind. As expected, it didn’t have much of a reaction other than to continue squinting at me.

   I frowned as my gaze drifted down to some more splotchy marks on its forelegs. With disgust, I noted that the burn marks there, similar to the ones on the fox’s back, had laid waste to the skin on both of the demon’s legs. Both areas and basically every other part of the demon’s body were deeply infected, causing the stench that I had smelled the first day that the fox appeared here.

   Glancing over the rest of its body, I knew that my suspicions had been correct. Even without clearing out all of the dirt and dried blood from the fox’s pelt, I could see the marks of experimentations. I knew that the broken bones didn't come from us. The fact that the animal’s front paws had, at some point in the fight, snapped so that they now lay at fractured angles was enough for me to make a concrete observation that humans had been involved in this demon’s agony. Not only that, but I knew from one glance that this fox wasn't feral. It was definitely sick but it showed no more malice to me as I observed it.

   Despite this, an involuntarily hiss escaped me and I bared my teeth as the fox shifted ever so slightly in what seemed to be an effort to get away from its pain. I didn't realize it at the time but the fox had actually moved to see me better. Of course though, as I said, the demon paid no attention to my hostility as I looked into its eyes. It was there, when I looked into those sickly green orbs, that I suddenly noticed something else.

   Moving closer ever so slowly, I made towards the fox’s head with a low growl which increased when I saw what was there.

   In the fox’s skull, just above its eyes, blood had been caked on from days, probably weeks, of bleeding. I couldn't see what was underneath the bloody fur or what kind of wound could produce that much blood but I quickly realized that the fox had bled so much just from his head that his muzzle and neck was covered in it.

   “ _You shouldn’t be awake_.” I observed, mostly to myself. The fox let out a feeble whine, almost as if it agreed.

   As my nerves faded and the beta in me began making itself known, I found myself calming down faster as I became conscious of the fact that this animal was a person. After that, it didn't take me long to sort through their scent and to find that this person was also a male _and_ a beta. This fact made me do a double take as I gazed down at the fox.

   Betas were already rare specimens- as well as subgenders in general- but male submissives, whether they be beta or omega, were even more of a rarity. In fact, I had never met another male beta until Evan and I came across Mini. And yet, through some random circumstances, I now stood face to face with the only other male beta I had ever met in over 30 years of being alive.

   It occured to me at that point that this person was a beaten and broken demon that was probably unrecognizable to whatever pack it had belonged to, if it had belonged to one. It didn’t deserve to be in pain.

   He _doesn’t deserve to be in pain_. I corrected myself adamantly.

   Everything that had happened in the past few days suddenly began making sense to me at that moment. The only thing keeping this animal alive was probably the demon blood. At least, that’s what I assumed because his eyes didn't revert back to their original color. Considering how bad his wounds were and how he had stayed in his demonic state, I suddenly wasn't surprised that he had stubbornly stayed close to and in the territory. Even if we were hostile, we were probably his only hope for survival. I also realized that it was probably because of the demon blood that this fox had attacked us even though he now held any semblance of malicious intent away from me.

   Suddenly, my attention turned inwards as the werecat in me opened his eyes to glare at me for a second. Then, without warning, he got up and paced over to me. I stared inwardly at him in profound astonishment. The werecat hadn't gotten up from his spot in the back of my mind in over ten years. To see him move was like what I imagine it would be if a mountain suddenly grew legs and started walking around.

   In my mind's eye, I stared at him in pure bafflement and yet the animal seemed to ignore me. His only focus was the screen which showed the injured fox. He didn't speak and, once he sat down in front of the control panel, he didn't move again. However, the demon’s eyes glowed with intrigue, a feeling that I had never before seen in him. Even before my family began drugging me, he wasn't very expressive. To see him moving and _feeling_ something tore at my sense of reality. For a moment, I was entirely convinced that everything that was happening was a dream. The only thing that turned that notion over on its head was when the werecat turned to look at me.

   Within his eyes, I glimpsed a hauntingly obscure image of his former self. Yet, he made no sound. He made no effort to communicate to me why he had risen. The only thing he did was sit and stare. I gazed at him with fear and a small amount of excitement as he turned back to the screen.

 _Why are you awake_? I thought, pressing my emotions upon his conscience. The werecat flicked his ears at me but otherwise made no move.

   Then, like a miniscule pebble being dropped into a lake, I received the faintest ripple of thoughts from him. In him, I briefly felt a desire to help. The feeling vanished within a second but I knew what I had felt.

 _We have to help this person_.

   Immediately, I began thinking through a train of decisions that I considered in depth as I tried with increasing desperation to figure out what exactly I could do to help this fox.

   My first thought was that I could heal him right then and there. His wounds were too great to be healed at once though and there was still the fact that, because of his demon blood, he could attack me if I made even the slightest of wrong connections. I would have to put it to sleep if I wanted to do that. However, the fact that he was barely clinging to life deterred me.

   I had never dealt with this kind of decision before. Never in my lifetime did I ever come into contact with a demon that was as bruised as this one. If I put him to sleep, there was the possibility that he could never wake up again. Maybe he would go into an incurable coma… or worse. I still had to help him though.

   It was only when I began considering Plan B that the sound of branches snapping somewhere nearby alerted me to the others, who I had forgotten about while studying the dying fox. All three of them came rushing out of the bushes with ruffled fur and varying degrees of bloody pelts, the more visible of which was across Tyler’s white coat. Brian was limping and still breathing hard but he was moving so, at the time, he didn't seem too injured to me. Mini’s head was bowed in shame but he watched me attentively and I think that it registered in his mind what I was thinking about a lot faster than the other two.

   “ _What happened?_ ” I asked anxiously to no one in particular.

   “ _I just panicked. That’s all there is to it._ ” Mini muttered before Tyler or Brian could say anything. I could tell from the glares that they threw at each other though that there was a bit of a scuffle.

   “ _Should have done it._ ” Tyler growled.

   “ _You would kill a half dead demon who is obviously in need of help?_ ” Brian snarled indignantly.

   “ _I would kill a half dead demon if he attacked my_ mate _! Unlike some people I know._ ” Tyler hissed. Shock from Tyler referring to Mini as his mate as well as his attitude towards Brian and what he was suggesting kept me from interfering. Mini, on the other hand, flinched uncomfortably before stepping forward.

   “ _Knock it off._ ” He seethed with a meaningful glare at both of our boyfriends.

   I peeled my lips back angrily, the stress of the situation along with being reminded of our personal problems stinging at my sanity.

   “ _If you two are done arguing like a bunch of school children, I would like to address what we do now._ ” I snapped. The fox groaned quietly underneath me in agreement.

   Brian gave me a guilty look and hunched his shoulders. Tyler sniffed and padded a few feet away, his tail flicking Mini’s side. Mini scowled sideways at him.

   “ _What_ is _there to do with a killer zombie fox who defeated the four of us in combat?_ ” Tyler huffed in exasperation. Despite his demeanor, I knew that he was scared, especially if his frequent glances at the fox were anything to go by.

   “ _He didn’t defeat us._ ” Brian growled.

   “ _He might as well have._ ” Tyler snapped in reply.

   “ _I_ _said knock it off._ ” Mini snarled vehemently. Tyler glanced at him with an apologetic look.

   “ _To answer your question Tyler, I say we take him home and get him healed._ ” I declared confidently.

   Mini grimaced at me while Tyler hissed incredulously. “ _Who’s this_ ‘we’ _you speak of? I am not helping that demon after what it just did to us. To_ all _of us, might I add._ _And what do you suggest we do if we take him home? Lock him up and hope he doesn't kill us in our sleep?_ ”

   “ _What do_ you _think we should do then Tyler? Leave it to die out here?”_ I growled lowly.

   Tyler shook his head with his lips peeled back. “ _Ya know, I hoped you wouldn't think so low of me._ ” I shifted on my feet uncomfortably as the bloody tiger continued.

   “ _We should take it to a healer on the other side of the border, where it_ belongs. _It’s not our problem and we should not be held responsible. And, either way, how do you suggest we transport it? It's obviously not affected by our enchantments so we would have to put it to sleep ourselves which is a lot to demand of you and Mini considering that there would have to be a continual renewal of the spell and that’s even if you could do it._ ”

   I shook my head. “ _Putting him to sleep means potential death in his state and I refuse to pawn him off on someone else. We have to take him home and heal him._ ”

   To my surprise, Brian was the next to start arguing. “ _Brock, you can’t be serious._ ” His blue eyes glowed with anxiety in the light of the full moon.

   I glared at him, baffled that he of all people would disagree with me. The other two seemed similarly surprised. “ _You just said we shouldn’t kill it. If we leave him here or take him to someone else, he’s as good as dead._ ”

   “ _Yeah but that’ll probably happen even if we take him to the house. You said it yourself; if we put him to sleep, he dies and I am not touching him otherwise because he_ will _attack us again if we touch him now. It's his instinct. Besides that, taking him to someone else and leaving him there is different from bringing a death machine, one that now has a history of bad experiences with us, running on instinct into our_ home.” He argued.

   I shook my head. “ _I don’t care. I’m bringing him home and we can settle it with Evan_.”

   “ _Settle what with me?_ ” A new, but familiar voice spoke up from the treetops.

   I looked up to see a pair of golden eyes staring down at us from behind the ever shifting tree branches. The leopard didn’t join us. Instead, he stayed in the tree assessing the situation with narrowed eyes, his tail dangling down as it lashed back and forth.

   “ _Evan._ ” Tyler greeted the alpha as he stepped forward to speak to him. " _T_ _his is the rogue that we've been searching for. When Mini and I found it, it appeared to be dead but it attacked Mini almost as soon as he got close to it. After that, this fox attacked us and wounded every single one of us. Brock wants to bring him home. I say we give him to a local medic outside of the territory, one that specializes in these things. You and I both know that we don’t have the tools to defend ourselves from a demon as dangerous and wild as this one seems to be. Our resources shouldn’t be wasted._ ”

   Evan stared, unblinkingly, at Tyler for a long time. Their gazes were unwavering, creating a tension in the air that made me want to cower down and cover my head. Despite this, I remained standing defiantly. The only thing that interrupted the staring match between the two alphas was the wheezing of the fox below me, who was still watching these events unfold as he twitched uncomfortably in pain.

   After a while, Evan’s unremitting gaze turned to me and I felt my knees buckle.

   “ _What do you think would happen if we followed your lead Brock_?” He asked without the least bit of condescension.

   I took a deep breath before straightening to meet his eyes resolutely. “ _This fox has survived in our territory, under our spells, for the past four days. He is broken, mutilated, and burnt and his wounds are infected and rotting fast. Obviously, this demon hasn’t eaten in a long time so he is most likely fatigued and dehydrated. He is clinging to life by the strands of pure demonic instinct. That instinct is most likely what drove him to attack us. As we can all see now though, he has been subdued. Yes, this demon is dangerous. No other demon should be able to survive this long out in the wild with so many wounds and they definitely shouldn’t be awake this long under our enchantments. However, that just goes to prove that he is worthy of our respect. Therefore, I suggest that we take him home and we can heal him to the best of our ability._ ”

   Evan watched me from the trees a while longer. Everyone else shifted uncomfortably but none of them were looking at the alpha in the tree. That’s probably why I was the only one that caught the look of fear and anxiety in Vanoss’ eyes.

   “ _Soon I will meet a fox on agile feet_ …” He muttered, more to himself then to any of us, his eyes drifting to the fox.

   I didn’t have time to question it before he jumped down from the trees, his paws thumping onto the grass in front of me.

   “ _As Wildcat said, why should we waste our resources_?” Evan tested experimentally, looking over the fox uneasily.

   I shifted on my feet. “ _I believe that these wounds can only be of human design. He’s a refugee just like I was._ ”

   Evan’s eyes flashed with an emotion that I had never seen before and that the others couldn’t see because his back was facing them. It looked like fear and then anxiety with a slight bit of reluctant relief. However, it happened so fast that I wasn’t quite sure what exactly I’d seen and it was immediately replaced by a pained expression, showing that he was remembering what had happened to me.

   The others tensed as they seemed to realize part of the reason why I wanted to help. I never expected them to know that the fox had come from a human lab. In fact, I had omitted that fact when we caught the scent during the first day. It became clear to me at that moment that they also had no idea what the labs smelt like. They didn’t know the signs because they had no experience with those horrid places.

 _Of course they wouldn't pick up on it_. I thought forlornly.

   “ _So, you want us to take in a stranger, who has proved to be dangerous to more than one of our members, and nurse him back to health._ ” Evan restated.

   I nodded confidently. “ _Yes. I will take full responsibility for his care and, in the event that he proves to be harmful... I will handle it._ ”

   “ _As will I._ ” Mini suddenly piped up, causing me to glance over at him in surprise. I realized that, to some extent, he probably felt guilty for nearly killing the demon. Yet, there was no doubt in his eyes as he volunteered himself. He still seemed wary of the fox and I caught him grimacing every once in a while but there seemed to be a different motive behind his gaze. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I turned back to Evan.

   The alpha glanced at me with a questioning look, to which I nodded in agreement. Then, he looked to Tyler and Brian. “ _What are your thoughts Brian?_ ”

   Brian flicked his tail irritably. He was obviously still bothered by Tyler’s stance on the situation and his chest still heaved with the effort of breathing. I made a mental note to make sure I checked his wounds first when I got the chance.

   “ _Ta little bugger put up a fight. He deserves ta have a fighting chance._ ” He stated with a sideways glare at Tyler.

   “ _Hey._ ” Evan growled. “ _I don’t wanna hear you two fighting again. Understood?_ ” The two demons huffed at each other but otherwise complied.

   “ _I do agree t’at we should help him but, even if we did try to take him to the house, there’s no guarantee t’at he won’t attack us.” Brian continued._

 _"That shouldn't be a problem if we put him to sleep though.”_ Evan commented with a confused look at me.

   “ _We can’t. There’s a huge possibility that he could die if we do that._ ” I responded.

   “ _What’s the likelihood that he survives?_ ” The alpha asked with reserved concern as he paced around the fox’s head.

   “ _It’s probably a 25-75 chance he survives.”_ Mini answered before I had the chance. “ _75% being that he dies. His wounds may be too great to survive without his demon’s survival instincts._ ”

   Evan let out a low growl and looked down at his paws for a moment. I could see the warring aspects of his personality as he fought with himself on what to do. In some senses, I understood how he was feeling. Even though I was entirely convinced that we should help this fox, there was also the complications to be considered as Tyler said.

   Evan sighed. “ _No matter our decision, we still have to transport him._ ”

   Brian nodded with a pained cough. He grimaced before taking a shallow breath. I glanced over at him in concern.

   “ _Tat’s exactly what we were talking about before you showed up_.” The werecat muttered as he sat down.

   “ _We might just have to take that chance then_.” Evan murmured softly with an uncertain look my way. I hummed considerably and nodded.

   A whine from the fox interrupted our discussion. I looked down to see the demon writhing on the ground again, seemingly unaware of our presence once more. Mini scowled at the fox with a hint of fear.

   “ _Tyler._ ” Evan continued on with newfound urgency. “ _Do you have anything else to say about this before I make a decision_?”

   Tyler shuffled his paws across the ground and flicked his tail irritably. “ _All four of us just witnessed this demon’s powers. This fox is incredibly dangerous. I fear that if we let him in, he could easily slaughter the members of our pack single handedly. I just don’t wish for any of us to get hurt._ ” He admitted with gradually increasing reluctance.

   Evan nodded. “ _I_ _understand your reasoning. However, I believe that we should take a risk._ ” I was about to smile when the alpha took a deep breath and turned to fix me with a hard stare.

   “ _However, you and Mini promised to take responsibility for it. I trust that you understand what this entails.”_ The alpha paused for emphasis before making eye contact with each person standing in the clearing.

 _“I hereby declare that we will allow this demon to stay at our house under three conditions. One: given the fox survives, he is to stay in comatose until his wounds are fully healed. Two: if and when he wakes up, he is not allowed to see the rest of the house and he is to be watched at every second of every day. We will keep him in the basement until we figure out what else to do, if we get that far. Three…_ ” Evan hesitated as he considered his next words before nodding to himself as though he had decided that the next thing he was going to say was right. Turning to me specifically, Evan’s gaze grew solemn.

   “ _If the fox wakes up and attacks any of us…_ you _will be the one to kill him immediately afterwards. No questions asked. No second chances._ ”

   I swallowed harshly. Everyone’s eyes were on me and I suddenly became aware of what I was about to do. I had ignored my mounting sense of trepidation for days and yet it was on that day, the day that we found the fox, that I knew in my heart that this was so much bigger than me. Yet, I couldn't leave the fox to die.

   In my mind’s eye, I gazed over at the werecat. During the conversation, I had been aware of his watchful eyes as he took in the situation with a critical gaze.

 _What do I do_? I asked him. He simply blinked at me and continued staring. I sighed and returned to reality.

   “ _I accept the responsibility._ ”

   With those simple words, I suddenly felt a powerfully overwhelming force rush down upon my conscience. At first, I resisted. However, like air squeaking through a pinhole in a balloon, I suddenly received a vague impression of gratitude. Then, the force disappeared as fast as it had come and I glanced down to see the fox's eyes finally shut. The werecat in my head nodded, as if he understood perfectly what had just happened.

   Personally, I began to panic because, like I kept saying before, sleep could mean death for the fox. I stared down at the demon in dismay for a second and, in one momentary lapse of caution, I recklessly rushed forward and immediately began searching for the fox’s pulse.

   The others yelled at me in varying tones of fear but the fox didn't move which only served to increase my dread. Quickly, I continued searching for a heartbeat as I leaned over to place my ear over the fox's mouth. For one horrifying second, I could neither feel nor hear any signs of life. Then, the fox’s heart beat jumped under my paws. I waited several seconds for another pulse, making sure to count how far apart the beats were. After 15 seconds, the fox’s heart jumped again… and again… and again… every 15 seconds without fail. In my ear, I could hear the faint sounds of him breathing but each breath measured at every 20 seconds. Both signs of life were consistent though.

   With a start, I realized that the fox was now in his own self-induced coma. This fact brought a slight bit of relief to me but my mind slowly turned to other thoughts as I gazed down at him. I hadn’t thought that he would voluntarily give into a comatose state but, as I observed him, I realized that it was definitely better if he regulated his coma himself rather than have us do it since we knew nothing about him. If we put him into too deep of a sleep, he could die. If we didn't make him sleep deep enough, he’d attack us.

   “ _He’s in a coma._ ” I muttered as I lifted my head to look around.

   “ _Is he going to be alright_?” Tyler inquired.

   I nodded. “ _He put himself into his own coma. He'll be fine. Plus, it's easier this way. Now, me and Mini can work on healing him and no one has to keep putting him under._ ”

   Gazing down at the fox once more, I became more aware of the responsibilities I had just invited upon myself.

   For a moment, I sat, stung by my decision and a semblance of recognition for what I’d done by agreeing to let the fox stay. Sitting back on my haunches, I considered what could happen next. Around me, I barely registered Mini stumbling a little and Tyler rushing over to help him. Brian followed the tiger and, together, they wedged the leopard in between them and hoisted him up.

   While they were distracted, I turned my head to look at Evan. He stood perfectly still at my side, staring unblinkingly at the fox. I watched him for a good minute before he seemed to surface from some deep thought and turned to look at me.

   “ _Did you feel that too_?” The alpha asked in a hushed tone.

   A sense of extreme unease coursed through me as I considered what he was talking about.

   “ _What? The fear that he died?_ ” I questioned.

   Evan shook his head with a frown. “ _No. Before that._ ”

   I shifted uncomfortably and looked away. “ _You mean the gratitude_.” Evan frowned, a cloak swinging shut over the emotions in his eyes as he turned away again to look at the fox.

   “ _That too I guess._ ” He responded as he paced around the newly fainted fox. I narrowed my eyes at him in wonderment. Under the mask of vague concern, I could see that there were so many feelings bottled up within the alpha’s eyes.

   I was going to ask him what he meant when Brian began coughing heavily. Immediately, I turned to see that he had dropped to the ground with Mini and was starting to breath heavier than before.

   I ran over to him and began trying to figure out what was wrong while Tyler continued fusing over Mini.

   “ _Where does it hurt Brian_?” I asked as calmly as possible. The werecat below me gasped for air and gestured to his chest.

   I motioned for him to roll over on his side before gently prodding his ribs with a paw. Brian winced and continued breathing hard until I hit a certain spot, at which point he let out a hiss. My face clenched as I pressed a little more, extending a miniscule portion of my molecules into his chest to search for the problem. It didn't take long for me to find the culprit.

   Within Brian’s sternum, there lay an ever so slight crack in the bone. I grimaced in sympathy as I began working to recreate and reattach the molecules back together. Immediately, I felt a sudden lull in my strength and it took me a second to realize that, while we were talking, my body had already been working on healing my own wounds. Shaking myself, I cut off the energy supply to my injuries and continued working on Brian.

   After a moment, Mini seemed to regain his composure as he got up and stumbled over to me. Tyler tried to protest but it was obvious that Mini was ignoring him so, with a sigh, the alpha left to help Evan.

   “ _What's wrong with him_?” Mini asked as he approached.

   “ _Hairline fracture in his sternum._ ” I responded curtly.

   Mini scooted closer before shaking himself and sitting so that he could raise a leg to itch his ear. I kept my eyes resolutely glued to my task at hand but, in the meantime, I remained aware of Mini’s pain.

   While I worked to fix Brian and Mini began fixing his own wounds, I could see Evan and Tyler out of the corner of my eye. They paced around the fox anxiously, whispering to each other in low tones. From what little I could hear, I knew that they were trying to figure out how to pick up the fox.

   It took me a while before I finally finished healing Brian and, by that time, Mini had at least stopped his bleeding. For some reason though, he kept muttering to himself with increasing frustration about how he was cursed. Once I wrapped up my work, I looked up at the leopard and rose an eyebrow at him.

   “ _How are you cursed_?” I asked him.

   Mini froze without looking at me before getting up and shaking himself. “ _It's nothing_.”

   I shook my head as I approached him. “ _Obviously it’s something. What’s wrong_?”

   Mini paused before turning back to me with a lost look. “ _I can't heal myself._ ”

   “ _What_?”

   “ _He blocked me._ ” The leopard muttered in astonishment as he stared over at the fox.

   I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant when Evan called out my name and asked me to come help them. Mini tried and failed to trot over to them and, as I looked over at Brian, I realized that they were both too weak to carry the fox.

   With a huff, I jogged over to Evan and Tyler as they worked on lifting the fox.

   “ _What are we doing here boys_?” I asked as soon as I got close enough to join in with their hushed tones.

   “ _We're gonna lift the fox up and put him on Evan’s back. Apparently, Evan is too stubborn to let_ me _carry him to the house_.” Tyler responded with a half hearted glare at said alpha.

   Evan rolled his eyes. “ _You need to get yourself healed before I let you do anything. Speaking of which, how are the other two_?”

   I shook my head. “ _I think I fixed the fracture in Brian’s sternum but Mini says he can't heal himself. He stopped the bleeding but I'll have to see where the block is when we get home._ ”

   Evan nodded before glancing up at Tyler. “ _See? Mini needs your help. Go help him._ ”

   The tall tiger in front of us paused before glancing over his shoulder at his boyfriend. He watched the leopard for a moment and then winced and turned back to us, his eyes sticking to mine for a second. I could see then that he was afraid of talking to the beta.

   After a second though, Tyler sighed and glowered at Evan before walking over to Mini. As I expected, Mini shrunk from him for a moment and, even after that, he refused to look at the alpha.

   A pang of sympathy ran through my veins for both of them. Of course Mini would be disturbed. Tyler had called him his mate. This wouldn't have been a problem if they hadn’t been going through so much crap because of the whole mates issue lately. I reminded myself to check in with them later before turning to Evan.

   He had busied himself with trying to get the fox up again but, so far, he had only managed to wedge his head and neck under the fox's shoulders.

   “ _Need a paw_?” I asked as I paced around to face him. He simply grunted in response and gave me a pleading glance.

   I smiled before crouching down to nudge the fox’s hind end back towards Evan’s shoulders. The werecat in my head watched these events unfold with a vague sense of interest and I couldn't help but feel my body continually tense every time he so much as moved a whisker. It felt nerve wracking to suddenly have a critical eye measure every single movement I made and yet I couldn’t help but be grateful that he had decided to move. These feelings of uncertain appreciation continued well into the night as his eyes tracked me, both physically and mentally.

   Maneuvering the fox onto Evan’s back without hurting him turned out to be more difficult than we thought and he almost slid off of Evan’s sides several times. Eventually, we got him into a spot where he didn't look nearly as broken as I knew he was though.

   It happened to be around that time that Brian came up to us. He pressed his head into my shoulder once he reached me before turning to look at Evan. For a moment, I saw him give the fox a disapproving once over. Then, the emotion subsided and he shook his head.

   “ _Are we about ready to get this shit show on the road_?” Brian muttered.

   Evan glanced over, watching the werecat carefully. Then, he took a step forward and nudged Brian’s chin with his head. I smiled at the moment of affection which passed as Evan turned to call Mini and Wildcat over. The two trotted up to us with Mini moving faster than his tiger companion. I gave Tyler a sympathetic look as he came up to us which he acknowledged with a glance.

   “ _We gotta hurry back. The others will be wondering what happened and I’d rather get this whole thing wrapped up_ before _the sun rises. Is everyone ready_?” Evan inquired.

   As usual, there came one unified click before Tyler took the lead with Evan just behind him. I fell into step next to Mini with Brian in front of us as he kept in step with Evan, checking to make sure that the fox didn't fall every few seconds.

   I hummed quietly to myself as we made slow progress towards the house. In reality, we weren't very far from home but, with Evan being weighed down by the fox, it was slow going by my standards.

   With a sigh, I twinned my tail with Mini’s to get his attention. The leopard glanced sideways at me with a questioning look. Gradually, I slowed my pace, with Mini following suit, until we were just out of earshot from the others. Only then did I speak.

   “ _Has something changed between you two since we talked yesterday_?” I murmured to Mini with a flick of my nose towards Tyler.

   Mini shook his head with a groan. “ _No. He's been understanding and he hasn't brought up moving out again. It was just the fact that, when we split with you guys, he kept fusing over me and saying that we shouldn’t split up. He kept saying that he had a bad feeling about this and, I guess he wasn’t wrong so I did forgive him but…_ ”

   I nodded and gently head butted the leopard in the side.

   “ _I think I understand the problem_.” I told him lightly.

   Mini glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before looking up at the others with a distraught expression.

   “ _He called me his mate Brock... He even explicitly implied that you_ _are_ Brian’s _mate for Ladet’s sake._ ” Mini grumbled.

   Immediately, I knew what the leopard was talking about as a fire burned through my chest, originating from my heart. In my mind's eye, the werecat looked down at his chest momentarily. In him, I could hear the awakening of his instincts as the spark incited a small flame therein.

 _Brian. My mate._ I thought to myself. The idea seemed extremely exciting to me but that excitement was followed by a pang of sadness as I reminded myself that it wasn’t true. The werecat in me frowned before wandering off to my memory cabinets, carrying the small spark in his chest. I subconsciously watched him leave my side with a slight occurence of guilt.

   “ _I think I understand it a little more now._ ” I remarked to Mini. The leopard nodded before lowering his voice even more.

   “ _It hurts because it's not true and yet I can see, now more than ever, that he wants it to be_.” He murmured. I hummed considerably, a sense of solemnity coming over me.

   We walked for a while in silence. Only when Evan glanced over his shoulder at us and noticed how far back we were did the pace slow enough for us to catch up. Mini and I glanced at each other before catching up with him.

   We had succeeded in getting within a minute of the house when, suddenly, the air exploded and, from above, a lithe black panther dropped out of the trees to land directly in front of Evan with a hiss. I recognized the tan ridge of fur along its back just as it began to speak.

   “ _What the hell is that_?” Scotty snarled with a distasteful flick of his tail at the fox.

Evan’s tail flicked once before going still as he watched Scotty pace in front of him. He kept his composure even as he turned quickly away when Scotty tried to step around him to see the fox. Scotty snapped at the alpha’s shoulder with a glare.

   “ _Tell me that’s not what I think it is_.” The panther demanded.

   “ _He’s exactly what you think he is but he needs our help._ ” Evan replied.

   Scotty continued glaring at the alpha for a moment before his attention turned towards the rest of us. After observing the wounds across the four of us who had fought the fox, he let out a low growl and lowered his head to Evan with his fangs bared.

   “ _And I suppose you'll tell me that these guys tripped and fell._ ” The panther growled.

   Evan shook his head. “ _No. They were attacked by this fox. There’s no use hiding that fact._ ”

   On the inside, I gaped at Evan for a second.

 _We're supposed to get the others to like him Evan! Telling them that he attacked us is not helping_. I projected my thoughts towards Evan knowing he could hear them if I pressed hard enough. He made no move to acknowledge my thoughts though.

   “ _Then why did you bring it here?_ ” Scotty argued in bafflement.

   “ _It was Brock’s idea._ ” Tyler piped up from behind the panther. “ _Don’t blame Evan._ ”

   I glared at the tiger briefly but, in his eyes, I could see that he didn't blame me either. If anything, Tyler seemed to blame himself. For what, I wasn't sure.

   Scotty turned to look at the tiger before shifting his gaze towards me. I mentally shrunk as the panther came up to me and sniffed my pelt. I could see the moment that he spotted the missing fur around the newly healed gashes in my shoulder and neck. Only then did he look into my eyes and, there, I could see one solitary question: why?

   I drew myself up and shifted my eyes towards Evan. The alpha sat, watching the scene unfold with a forced sense of composure and fearlessness. In his eyes, behind the curtain, I could see that he was beginning to doubt himself.

   “ _We need to keep moving so we can get him settled in for the night._ ” I told Evan, maintaining eye contact with only him in order to avoid Scotty’s questioning gaze.

   “ _Wait. He's staying??_ ” Scotty exclaimed with a confused look towards Evan even as the alpha turned away and continued towards the house.

Tyler glanced over his shoulder to give Scot a empathetic look before following Evan.

   “ _I don't understand_.” Scotty murmured quietly.

   I turned my head away as I passed him to get to Brian, barely noting Mini walking up to the panther and leading him along with us.

   Brian huffed irritably as we followed Tyler and Evan through the passageways surrounding our house.

   “ _I understand your motive Brock but this is gonna create a lot of tension in the pack, especially between the alphas. They're all bound to have different opinions. I can't imagine what Marcel is going to do._ ” Brian averred as we walked.

   I sighed. “ _I know. It had to be done though._ ”

   Brian nodded before twinning his tail with mine. “ _I trust your decision then._ ”

   As we reached the porch, I smiled internally and rubbed my head against his side. “ _I appreciate your support_.”

   “ _Anytime babe._ ” He murmured even though I could see the uncertain flicker in those gorgeous blue eyes of his.

   Tyler began shifting back before anyone while Evan stayed on all fours. I followed suit, as did Mini and Scotty.

   Halfway through my shift, I noticed that Brian wasn’t shifting back. When I finished, I glanced over at him with a questioning look. He looked up at me before grimacing and making a motion towards his chest saying that it would hurt to shift so he preferred to do it later. I frowned but nodded in understanding nonetheless.

   Tyler waited for everyone to finish before looking down at Evan. The leopard took a deep breath before nodding, allowing Tyler to open the door.

   Almost as soon as we stepped foot in the house, Marcel and Nogla were there to greet us with looks of displeasure. I tensed and shimmied my way towards the front of the group to a spot in front of Evan, who still stood with the fox on his back behind Tyler. Behind me, I could hear Mini doing the same.

   Marcel leaned sideways to look over us at Evan. I assume that it was the moment that he caught the smell of blood that his eyes turned their dangerous orange color and he glared at Tyler.

   “What is that?” He growled.

   From my vantage point, I couldn't see Tyler’s expression but I knew that it was one of momentary defiance if Marcel’s scowling face was anything to go by. With careful motions, I then watched as Tyler stepped to the side, around Marcel, and headed towards the basement. I swallowed a mounting sense of anxiety as the alpha left me to deal with with Marcel instead. Somewhere in my mind, I realized that Tyler deliberately left to avoid a confrontation that he wasn't even in complete agreement with.

   I stood my ground though as I turned back to the only remaining tiger in the room.

   “What happened?” Marcel asked as his eyes narrowed towards me.

   I prepared to respond when my knee buckled and I momentarily lost my balance. Briefly, I glared down at Evan as he pushed past me to face Marcel.

   “ _This person needs our help. I have made the executive decision to keep him here until he is fully healed._ ” Evan told the tiger calmly.

   Marcel glared down at the leopard. “And whose brilliant idea was this?”

   Quietly, I stepped forward and raised my hand. “That would be me.”

   Marcel shifted his gaze to stare at me for a second before rolling his eyes. “Of course it would be you Brock. Your heart is too kind sometimes _._ ”

   I turned my head away from the alpha with a shrug. “I guess so.”

   Evan glanced over his shoulder at me before stepping past Marcel and heading downstairs to where Tyler was.

   “ _We'll talk about it in detail in the morning._ ” The alpha told us as he walked away. Brian brushed past me as he followed Evan as well.

   Marcel scowled after them but otherwise kept quiet until both of their tails disappeared around the corner. Behind me, I could hear someone, probably Scotty, shut the front door.

   “You’re crazy Brock.” Marcel muttered with a shake of his head before wandering back down the hall to the living room. I watched him leave as Scotty made his way past us to follow the alpha.

   With a sigh, Mini came up behind me and rested a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at him only to receive a gentle but anxious smile before he scooted past me and followed the others downstairs.

   In the wake of the silence that ensued afterwards, I suddenly realized that I hadn't taken much notice of Nogla despite his obviously overbearing stature. The tall winged creature stood in the doorway of the hall leading to the gaming room with a pinched expression and his arms folded.

   “What do you think Nogla? Am I crazy?” I asked as I turned to him.

   Nogla turned to me and shuffled his wings, his expression now somewhat blank.

   “I'm not sure yet. We'll have ta see. What was that t’ing anyway?” He responded with a nod in the direction of the stairs.

   I squinted at him for a second, confused. “Have you never seen a fox Nogla?”

   Nogla’s jaw dropped open and he gaped at me in astonishment. “T’at was a fox?”

   I winced before leaning back against the doorframe of the front door. “Yeah. At least, I'm pretty sure he is.”

   Nogla shook his head solemnly and sighed. “It's a damn shame what they did to him. What they did to you as well.”

   The comment was so random and abrupt that my head immediately snapped to attention as I turned to stare at Nogla.

   “What are you talking about Nogla?”

   For a second, Nogla tilted his head and scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

   “I thought you knew about that person being in the lab?”

   My brain short circuited at this point. So far as I knew, no one but me had known that the fox had come from a lab until I told them. Even Evan, who had spent the second greatest amount of time in a lab, didn't realize that the fox was from a lab. Nogla had been nowhere near us when I told the patrol and Evan about this. Yet, he looked so sure of himself that I had the suspicion that he was either really experienced with identifying the work of human labs or he was an extremely good guesser.

   “I know. What I want to know is how is it that you know?”

   Nogla glanced towards the stairs to the basement with a frown. Then, without saying a word, he turned and headed back down the hall to the gaming room. I stared after him in wonder.

 _What a cryptic man_. I thought to myself with a shake of my head. I stood in the doorway for a moment to gain my composure before following the others to the downstairs area.

   I quickly realized as I got to the bottom of the stairs that the best efforts to make the fox comfortable were already being made.

   The couch that sat in the middle of the room originally had been shifted to the side to make room for a giant pile of blankets and pillows. Over top of the pile of comforters the boys had laid down a blanket that was specifically used for times when we wanted to lay down in our animal forms, one that could be dirtied without complaint towards messing it up.

   On top of the mound of cushions, the fox had already been deposited onto the pile. His body barely made a dent in the small hill.

   “ _We’ll have to take him outside and rinse him off tomorrow. Tonight, our main focus should be just making sure that he survives._ ” Evan suggested as I walked up to the group gathered around the fox. Everyone nodded in agreement.

   “Mini and I can at least close off the bleeding for now. Everything else will have to be put off until tomorrow when we get him washed.” I remarked.

   Evan turned to me and nodded while Mini gave me a look of trepidation. Reluctantly, the beta crouched with a sigh and got a head start on healing the fox. I joined him as the others discussed the plans for the fox.

   “ _As I said before, this fox will stay down here. I don't want too many people around it. Any colds or sicknesses like that could easily kill him if he were to catch them._ _Like I told Marcel, we’ll hammer out details in the morning. For now though, I want everyone to eat something, get some sleep, and be prepared for a meeting in the morning._ ” Evan ordered.

   “Shouldn't someone keep watch in case he wakes up again?” Tyler questioned.

   Evan nodded. “ _Yep. That's why I'll watch him until the morning_.”

   I glanced over at the alpha with a questioning look but he paid me no mind. Mini had told me this morning that Evan hadn’t been getting any sleep the past few nights. On top of that, he had been on almost every patrol last night until the trio got back late this afternoon. For that, I knew the alpha was frustrated but he showed no outward signs of it.

   Tyler and Brian, on the other hand, were oblivious of this fact so they both sort of shrugged before heading back upstairs. Mini and I turned to each other at the same exact time with expressions of concern. Mini lifted an eyebrow and glanced back at Evan. I shook my head and sighed.

   “ _I know what you guys are thinking._ ” Evan grumbled as he got up and walked over to the couch. He paused to look at the cushions for a moment before hopping up and sitting down.

   When Evan didn’t say anything else, I lightly elbowed Mini in the side and motioned to the fox. A scowl had settled itself into the beta’s face as he concentrated on his work. After I tapped him though, he glanced sideways at me with a frown. Together, we waited for Evan to speak. He didn’t though.

   Subconsciously, I had already searched for any bleeding on the fox. However, after a few fixes to some of the wounds that were bleeding, I realized that his body was already working on healing itself. Most of the wounds that I observed had started closing themselves off before I even reached them. Mini seemed to be running into the same problem as he turned to me and shrugged.

   Defeated for now, we stood and turned to Evan. The gold of his alpha was already beginning to taint his eyes at that point as he drifted in and out of conscience on the couch with his head on his paws.

   “Evan?” I called out to him. The shapeshifter groaned, his eyes flickering up to us. Heaving a deep sigh, he lifted his head and shook it.

   “ _I know what you're thinking. I should be sleeping cause I haven’t in a few days. Although I appreciate your guys’ concern, I can’t sleep. This rogue has been keeping me up for days. Now, he’s in our home, sleeping with our blankets, receiving our help. I don’t have many complaints about him being here. I’m just afraid for what he’ll bring. I can’t sleep. I have to keep an eye on him._ ”

   For a moment, I sat, waiting for Evan to continue. Once again though, he remained silent in favor of curling up on the couch. As I watched, the shapeshifter blinked rapidly to keep himself awake before his eyes opened wide and he stared up at us.

   “ _I’ll be fine_.” The alpha assured us. Mini shook his head and rolled his eyes.

   “I’m sure you will be. You need to be rested though before the meeting tomorrow. I don’t want another blow up like yesterday because you’re tired. I don’t care if it’s that half awake half asleep eye thing that you do as long as you get some sort of rest. I’ll come relieve you in the morning.” The beta insisted. Evan glared halfheartedly at Mini before sighing.

   “ _Yes sir._ ” The shapeshifter responded sarcastically as he flicked his tail at Mini in a saluting gesture.

   The beta chuckled before turning and heading upstairs. “Good night guys.”

   “Good night Mini.” I responded with a small smile. Behind me, I could hear Evan let out a short huff of amusement.

   The alpha and I waited until the Mini was out of earshot before I turned back to him. Evan’s gaze remained trained on the stairs for a moment before his eyes slowly came to rest on me.

   It was only then that I noticed the gold rings growing larger around his pupils.

   “ _I’m fine Moo._ ” He told me with a restive tone.

   I squinted at him. “No you’re not. What’s on your mind?”

   Evan turned his head away and buried his face under his tail. “ _It’s nothing._ ”

   “Obviously it is.” I insisted.

   “ _No it’s not! It can’t be._ ” The alpha snapped, his eyes focus on a point behind me. I looked back uncertainly only to see that his gaze was trained on the fox. “ _There’s no such thing as Destiny. There’s no such thing as prophets. There’s no such thing as Fate. Not everything is set in stone. Not everything can be foretold. Not everything has a purpose. Sometimes, it just_ is _. Nothing can be prophesied. Things just happen. There is no purpose or higher meaning to it!_ ”

   For a moment, I sat watching the leopard as his chest heaved up and down. Then, his strength seemed to falter and he began muttering half coherent ramblings about prophets and destiny. After awhile though, Evan calmed a little and he glanced up at me with an apologetic look.

   “ _I’m sorry Brock. I’m just- I’m just stressed… and tired_.” The alpha apologized as he buried his face under his tail once more.

   His words created a sense of unease in my chest but I couldn't bring myself to ask Evan what he meant. Almost all day, I had heard him say things under his breath that he thought no one would hear. Earlier, he muttered something about a fox. Now, he shook his head at Destiny.

   With a sigh, I wandered over to the alpha and sat on the edge of the couch next to him. At first, I didn’t think he was paying attention. It was his ears flicking back at me that made me realize that he was though.

   “I don’t blame you for being stressed Evan. I have no idea what you’re talking about at all but either way, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate. You don’t have to apologize. I just wish I could help you.” I assured the alpha, reaching out to run my fingers through his soft fur.

   Evan sighed and then he did something that I never would have expected in our current situation. The shapeshifter turned his head and placed it in my lap with his eyes closed.

   I hesitated, unsure of what to do. It didn’t matter anyway though because Evan only stayed for a second before he turned so that he could press his nose into my stomach and sighed heavily. The sound created a hollow echo-like reverberation in the alpha’s chest, as if a huge gust of wind had heaved itself through a canyon and burst out the other side with all the force of a hurricane. Then, Evan turned his head back and curled into himself again.

   I smiled solemnly and brushed my hand through the alpha’s fur again before standing.

   “We’ll be fine Evan. Have faith.” I murmured as I walked away. The alpha made no acknowledgement of my comment even as I continued upstairs.

   When I reached the top of the steps, I was greeted by the sweet smell of honey and honeydew, an ironic combination if I might say. With a bittersweet smile, I turned the corner to see Brian and Mini standing at the bottom of the steps that led up to the top floor.

   “ _I’m sure he didn’t mean it._ ” Brian assured Mini as I walked up to them.

   Mini ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “No. He definitely did. I don’t doubt that.”

   “Who meant what?” I asked.

   The two demons turned me simultaneously with mixed expressions. Brian looked uncertain and surprised to see me. Mini, on the other hand, noticed that it was me and he sighed with a familiar look of dejection.

   “ _I… we were, uhm…_ ” Brian stammered with a hesitant look back at Mini.

   Mini raised his hand and shook his head. “It’s alright Brian. He already knows.”

   Brian frowned and flicked me with his tail. “ _Figures. I was just telling Mini here that Tyler had a spur of the moment slip up earlier when he called him..._ ” The werecat paused before averting his eyes toward the ground. “ _When Tyler called him his mate._ ”

   Involuntarily, I felt my face clench at the word. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Mini had a similar reaction.

   “ _Craig just assured me that he meant it though. Now, I feel awkward._ ” Brian continued without looking at either of us.

   Mini huffed in amusement and he reached forward to pat the werecat’s head.

   “It’s alright Brian. I’m not mad.” The beta assured him gently.

   “Where is Tyler anyway?” I asked as I looked around.

   Mini glanced up the steps to the top floor and shook his head. “Not entirely sure. I think he went up to get ready for a shower. He did tell me to tell you not to worry about my injuries though. Apparently, we have some things to talk about while he patches me up.”

   Surprised, I rose an eyebrow at the beta. He met my gaze with one of barely concealed anxiety. I smiled gently at him as I took a few steps forward and placed a supportive hand on the beta’s shoulder.

   “You’ll be fine. Tell Tyler thank you for me.” I murmured.

   Mini nodded. “I will. Thanks Brock.”

   I smiled and patted him on the shoulder before moving around him and heading up the stairs with Brian just behind me. “Good night Craig.”

   “Good night Brock. Night Brian.” He replied.

   My smile faded a little in the face of fatigue as I reached the top of the steps. Gradually, as I led the way to my room, I could feel my strength depleting. No one had gotten much sleep today and I could feel it in the house. The whole structure itself seemed to groan with the effort of keeping us all awake.

   Once Brian and I reached my room, I opened the door and beckoned him in with a wave of my hand. His powerful shoulders rippled as he walked in and sat down in the middle of the room. I closed the door before following him.

   “Does it still hurt?” I asked the werecat gently as I knelt down in front of him to look at his chest. He huffed and turned his head away.

   “ _A bit. I t’ink it’s healed for the most part but it's almost like there’s trauma still there… I can't believe he broke my sternum... and while being half dead at that…_ ” Brian responded.

   I nodded, my hands meandering up to subconsciously rub at my neck where the flayed skin of my wounds still remained. “I know what you mean. I guess I've never fought someone who could bypass my fur either.”

   Brian’s gaze flickered up to meet my eyes before they drifted down to my neck.

   “ _Obviously, I’m aware t’at the world is cruel and that people get hurt and I've seen the reminders of those such occasions on you… I don't think I ever thought that you would get hurt though while under my watch…_ ” The werecat mumbled.

   In the far reaches of my mind, I could feel the werecat in me perk up a little at these words as I sighed. Bending a little to get my shoulder under Brian’s chin, I wrapped my arms around the werecat’s broad chest and hugged him tightly. Brian paused before throwing a giant paw around me and returning the gesture.

   I smiled and gave him a lasting squeeze before releasing him. Within his chest, I could hear Brian purring as I leaned back to look into his eyes. After a moment, I glanced down at his forelegs, suddenly reminded that those areas had been hit as well. There were a few tufts of missing fur there but, other than that, they seemed unaffected. Then again, that's what I’d thought about Brian’s chest as well.

   With a deft hand, I reached down and gently grabbed the leg that had been hit by the fox's tail. Brian allowed me to lift it and examine it with a slight wince.

   “Do he think he broke anything here?” I asked.

   Brian shook his head. “ _I would’ve felt it by now. I think there will be a giant bruise in the morning but, other than that, I’m fine. It was just my chest that hurt._ ”

   I nodded. “That's good. Hopefully some rest will at least take some of the inflammation away. You'll probably need pain relievers h  uh?”

   Brian tilted his head before nodding. “ _Probably because this is gonna hurt_.”

   I patted the werecat’s shoulder gently before standing and walking to my nightstand for the bottle of pain relievers that I knew was there. Rummaging through the drawer, I found the small white container fairly easily and turned back to Brian. He grimaced before sighing.

   “ _Let's get this over with._ ” He grumbled.

   With that, his eyes pulsed and his body began shifting. I winced as I heard his bones crack and slide together as they ripped themselves apart and strapped themselves back into millions of complex structures. Once or twice, Brian hissed with the pain of the shift but, other than that, he stayed quiet despite the agony I knew he was experiencing.

   After a few more seconds, Brian finally stood as his usual six foot self. He swayed breathlessly for a second just before he stumbled. I quickly reached forward and offered my arm which he caught and leaned on. Surprised and completely unprepared for the extra weight, it took me a moment to balance myself and bring my body closer to him.

   “Hey. Take it easy Brian.” I ordered worriedly.

   Brian shook his head and clutched at his chest with a vibrating growl. The sound only escaped him for a second before he doubled over and began coughing which only made him groan in pain. The muffled sounds of his rough breathing resounded through the air as he tried desperately to stop the vibrations in his chest.

   Confident that he could stand on his own, I let go of him and hurried to grab a water bottle out of my collection on the nightstand and handed it to him.

   Brian glanced up at me before grabbing the bottle. He took a moment to suck in a deep breath then unscrewed the bottle and drank a mouthful of the cool liquid. As soon as he swallowed, he gave the topless bottle to me and gasped for air. After a moment, he lifted his head a little and glared up at me.

   “I knew it would hurt but FUCK!” He growled before bending over again and grasping his chest.

   I huffed in amusement as I turned around and began turning the blankets over on the bed so that we could lay down. Once I finished, I pivoted to face Brian again and offered him a hand. His eyes flickered to the appendage before reaching up to grab it. I made sure to keep myself balanced as he slowly stood up straight with a grimace and leaned on me.

   “Take the feeling of congestion in your chest when you’ve got a cold and times that by a t’ousand and you can imagine my pain right now.” The werecat hissed.

   I shook my head. “I can _only_ imagine.”

   Gradually, I led Brian to the edge of the bed and allowed him to crawl onto the sheets before I joined him. He curled up under the covers with several groans while I followed suit.

   As I began to settle down, Brian turned over to face me with slow, pained motions. I laid on my side and propped my arm up to rest my head in my hand.

   “I trust your judgment Brock. I don’t trust that fox though. Something is wrong with him.” The werecat began in a low voice.

   I groaned heavily and laid on my back. “Of course something is wrong with him. He’s been burned, broken, bruised, deprived of kindness and food. He’s been downright tortured. Yes. I agree that he’s dangerous and that I don’t trust him. I trust my instincts though.”

   “Have your instincts told you that he is a bad omen? Someone who will change everything? Cause that’s what mine have been telling me.” Brian responded with a dark expression, the blue in his eyes shining just a little brighter.

   I frowned and turned away from him. Throughout the past few days, ever since Scotty and I found the scent, I kept getting the mounting sense of impending doom. I knew now that the fox was the source and yet I had argued to keep him. Despite the havoc he had already wrought on the four of us who had fought him, I still felt entirely convinced that keeping him was the right thing to do. Yet, I couldn’t decide if this feeling was out of pity or if it was true instinct.

   “I have gotten the feeling that he is bad news for us. That was my first instinct. Seeing him today though, I feel like he’s not all that bad. I don’t know why and I don’t expect you to believe me when I tell you this but…” I trailed off after a moment in favor of staring up at the ceiling in thought.

   There was a moment of silence before the covers shifted and I felt Brian scoot closer to me.

   “But you still feel like you’re doing the right thing.” He murmured.

   I sighed and turned back to him. “Well, kind of. I do think there will be a lot of complications but I think it’ll be worth it in the end.”

   Brian scrunched his face up a little before nodding, his hand coming up to rest on my hip. “Like I said, I support you. I do agree with what Tyler said though too. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

   I sighed and laid my head down on the pillows without another word. Brian hummed softly and curled up against me with a slight wince as my hand brushed his chest. I murmured an apology before wrapping an arm around Brian’s waist and pulling him close. Ever so gently, I pressed my lips to his forehead.

   “Good night Brian.” I murmured.

   “Good night Brock.” He mumbled back. Slowly, I felt his mind drift into slumber.

   Me, on the other hand, I stayed awake for a while longer. My decisions from the day haunted my thoughts and, in the back of my head, I could feel my werecat pacing around. He flitted between the memory cabinets like a wraith which I only glimpsed at random intervals.

   At one point, I grew so paranoid over his movement that I turned to him and glared at his bright green eyes as he stared at me through the din.

 _Why are you awake_? I asked once more.

   The werecat, sensing my uneasiness, blinked at me. Then, as if he were imitating the Cheshire Cat, he disappeared in a wreath of smoke.

   I searched my mind for him for near an hour but I found no remnants of where he was, not so much as a whisker appeared.

   After a while, I grew tired and, gradually, I felt my eyes close. It was around the time that my mind began slowing that I felt a curious pressure touch my conscience.

   Cracking open an eye, I looked inwards to see my werecat’s tail disappear once more around the Memory Cabinets.

   The werecat knew of course. He knew what my decisions would bring. I could see it in his eyes everytime I glimpsed them through the cracks in between the cabinets. How was I to know though? I guess I never expected him to tell me.

   In any case, how would I have ever understood what he knew? How could I have ever possibly hoped to comprehend the immense possibility that my one seemingly solitary decision would entangle my pack in a series of events that would change our lives forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love using foreshadowing and a bit of dramatic irony if you couldn’t tell ;D
> 
> I honestly thought that it would be easy to finish this chapter and post it this past Saturday but I have been in the mood to write romance, in particular H2OVanoss, but I’m also aware that those moments won't happen for a few more chapters. So, once again, my writing style is getting in the way ^^’ Like I said, I would have gotten this chapter out on Saturday but, on top of my writing distractions, it has been such a stressful week this past week and a half. We started a complex research project for the book Hamlet by Shakespeare and it has taken up a lot of my time. I also don't understand math… I really don't ^^’ I have a feeling this next week will be the same so I'll probably go back to a 2 week upload schedule. I hope to get to either chapter 11 or 12 done by the end of this month/year but that might not happen. We’ll have to see and play it by ear~
> 
> On the topic of molecular regeneration: I know that it was kind of vague when Moo described it but, basically, the way MR works is that people can send their cells into the body of another person and they have the ability to “recreate and restitch” everything together. Basically, the cells are like little workers that take extreme concentration to use. I hope that the concept came across as clear as possible. If any of you have questions, feel free to ask me~
> 
> In the meantime, who is Ohm to the pack? Why has he come to them? How is he to change the course of their lives? Stay tuned~
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody~ Congratulations for all those who have made it this far! I am so happy to have finally reached the double digits for this story <3
> 
> The timestamps for this chapter are, as always, in relation to last chapter. However, when Delirious (you did read that right. I did say Delirious) speaks for this chapter and he says a different time than what was previously indicated, it only means that he is talking about it as he saw it in the past. In other words, Del says throughout this chapter that they left Ohm three and a half months ago. This means three and a half months from where he stood a month ago…. If that makes sense ^^’
> 
> As a reminder: Bavsha is the term used for heats/ruts
> 
> Enjoy!

**Delirious’ Perspective:**

**_A Month Ago_ **

   " _I_ _don’t understand_.” The enormous red furred wolf in front of me snarled, his russet eyes vibrating with fury and anguish. The achingly familiar gray bandana lying in the grass in front of him sat smothered in dirt and debris as his claws speared through the ground on either side of it.

   “ _How could we miss it?_ ” He barked, his teeth gnashing together as he turned on me, his skeletal wings flared.

   “ _Calm down Cartoonz. We can find him._ ” I insisted with a careful step back.

   “ _Look around you Delirious!_ ” The wolf howled in such a grief stricken voice that I felt my knees buckle with emotion. “ _Look at it! Don’t look at me! Look at what happened here and tell me again that we’ll find him!_ ”

   For the first time in the two hundred years that I had lived, I was afraid to look at the destruction around me. Granted, this time it wasn’t caused by my own claws, but it might as well have been.

 _If Ohm had never met us, this wouldn’t have happened_. This thought repeated over and over in my head in a maddening cycle as I looked around at the ruins of our house.

   Nothing but ash and a few charred poles stood in the clearing that used to hold our house. Even some of the trees around the edge of the clearing had been burned down.

   Three and a half months ago, Cartoonz, Squirrel, and I left Ohm in our house in the confidence that he could take care of himself. According to our mission’s instructions from Zephyra Evelynn, the _Kafaira_ of Noanric, we weren’t supposed to bring him along.

   It wasn’t the first time. We had done a few minor missions where Ohm had to stay behind and, although such instructions had been repeated in almost all of our missions, we normally took him along anyway. The requirements for this last mission had been specific and threatening enough for us to actually leave him behind though. It was simply misfortune that this would be the one that we would regret.

   As the wind kicked up, ash exploded in my face with a vengeance. Not so much as a remnant of smoke greeted us when we arrived at what used to be our house. In fact, the place was overgrown with fresh, green shrubbery, all grown in the past month or two of spring when we arrived that day.

 _We weren’t even close to saving him._ I thought despairingly.

   Cartoonz had stopped his howling. Now, he stood as still as a statue, staring down at the only thing left of our friend. The bandana almost seemed to taunt us from under the dirt, the omega symbol smiling up at us with knowledge of Ohm’s disappearance that we could never hope to attain without the help of someone who had been here.

   “ _We’ll find him Cartoonz. We have to believe that._ ” I tried to assure my companion.

   The wolf shook his large-horned head. “ _Where do we even start Delirious?_ ” He questioned me as his wings sunk down close to his sides.

 Cartoonz was a strong, valiant wolf. He had endured many trials to be here at my side. And yet, in all of our time together, I had never seen him so distraught.

   It only made sense though. I remembered the state of my Guardian’s mind when we left that cold, wintery morning three and a half months ago. Him and Ohm used to be close. It was only after that one time, the only time that Cartoonz ever bothered verbally expressing his feelings to me about Ohm, that the fox had heard what Cartoonz truly thought. Even then, neither of them understood their feelings and thus my Guardian’s words were misconstrued.

   Sometimes, I wish I had the power to turn back time. Time is a thing of nature though, unalterable, indifferent, rushing to get to a point that I can never foresee. There was nothing I could do about it. Time, unlike most things, was not under my control even at full power.

   I still wished for that power nonetheless, if only to ease Cartoonz’s pain as he shifted into his human form within seconds and knelt down beside the bandana. Gently, he scooped the soft fabric out from underneath the dirt. As it appeared, I felt in my mind the vicious shrieks of grief and agony tearing through my bond with Cartoonz. Before I knew it, hot tears began pooling in my eyes only to spill over, down my cheeks.

   Grief wasn't something that I had ever been accustomed to dealing with. When someone died or got hurt, there was never grief spared for them where I came from. In my world, there had been nothing but fire and indifference.

   Up here though, during the many years that I had spent with Cartoonz in my head and vice-versa, I learned many emotions. Originally, they were never my own, but I eventually learned of their importance. Over the years, I had learned to develop my own emotions from studying the wolf. Yet, I had also trained for years afterwards to keep Cartoonz’s emotions from polluting mine.

   In those moments though, the moments where Cartoonz sat, staring at Ohm's bandana, I became entranced by the wolf's thoughts and memories.

   The only thing he seemed to be thinking about was how much of a failure he was. He had failed to protect one of the few people that he cared about the most. In his mind, it was as if he had killed Ohm himself.

 _We shouldn't have let him stay. He should have snuck out with us. It was safe enough for him to have gone. He could have gone with us._ Cartoonz thought, his mind circling itself in incessant cycles.

   There were two memories that seemed to stick out the most from the wolf’s mind though. They were ones of Ohm of course.

   The first of the two was one of the mornings after Cartoonz served Ohm for a week. Of course, as a beta, Ohm had gone through many rounds of _Bavsha_ during our years together. Yet, he always spent those times away from us.

   Ohm had a habit of putting himself down for being a beta. It always seemed to me that he was ashamed of his beta side and, consequently, _Bavsha_ as well. Perhaps that's why it was such a surprise to me when Ohm allowed Cartoonz to serve him.

   I don't think either of them understood what this would mean. Cartoonz especially never realized the intimacy and intensiveness with which subgenders experience _Bavsha._ I knew about it but only because Ohm had explained it to me later after the incident. That intensity is exactly what Cartoonz had been talking to me about that one morning, the one morning that he said his thoughts out loud.

   At the time that Cartoonz served Ohm, both of us had dampened the bond between each other so I never experienced the embarrassment of knowing what happened between the fox and the wolf. However, when they finally returned and I was allowed to enter Cartoonz’s mind once more, I could not understand his feelings without revisiting his memories. To avoid awkwardness once again, Cartoonz verbally told me how he had felt, how uncertain the whole situation had made him about his feelings toward Ohm, and how scared he was that it would change everything. Most of all though, he feared that he would push Ohm away if he said that he wanted to be together with him.

   Of course, as is the unfortunate part about time and its malign ways, Ohm eavesdropped at the wrong moment. The only thing the fox heard was when Cartoonz told me he felt weird about the whole situation. He had even gone so far as to voice his regrets in serving Ohm because he knew it would mess with their relationship.

   Ohm was already intimidated by his beta side and he hated letting it control him. When I spoke to him after the incident, he revealed to me that he had only allowed two other people to serve him while in  _Bavsha_. For him, it was an ultimate sign of trust that he hadn't given out in years. The fact that the person he trusted the most, the person that he admitted he wanted to be with, had regretted it made him feel awful.

   Ohm felt like the relationship lost between them was his fault because he thought he forced Cartoonz into it. Cartoonz felt that the rift between them was caused by his carelessness and unwillingness to reveal his true feelings to Ohm. Neither of them blamed it in each other.

   The memories of the weeks following this incident eventually led right into the last memory that Cartoonz held with Ohm, the night before we left.

   Being telepathically bonded, I knew what had happened. I knew that they fought and that Cartoonz had tried desperately to show Ohm how he felt. Squirrel and I had listened from the bottom of the stairs as our two friends fought.

   Personally, it was difficult to see them this way. I had thought that things were getting better. It was unfortunate that that night was the one where old wounds were reopened. Now, Cartoonz was left with a last bitter memory of the fox and he was filled with even more regret for not saying proper goodbyes. In his mind, he was already beginning to think that he would never get a chance to make it right.

_We’ll never see him again. We’ll never get the chance to say goodbye again. We failed him. We weren't even close to saving him. He’s probably been gone for weeks- months maybe. If he had come with us like he always does, he would be fine. He would be alright. If only we had taken him with. He would still be alive._

   With a vicious snarl, I tore myself away from Cartoonz’s thoughts and clamped shut the bond between us with a vehement shake of my head.

   “ _NO!”_ I hissed, snapping my teeth at the human in front of me. “ _Don’t start thinking like that Cartoonz! He’s alive! He has to be!_ ”

   “No. It’s not possible.” Cartoonz insisted in a voice so broken that I felt my own heart shatter.

   “ _Yes he is! We have to believe that. We have to believe that he's alive. If we don’t, no one else will. We're all he has. You told me that yourself!_ ” I retorted.

   Cartoonz shook his head and put the bandana back down on the ground. “He's lost. For all we know, this is his grave. We’ll never see him again.”

   Angry and growing more agitated because of the demon’s thoughts, I charged at the human and slammed my head straight into him. He turned at the last moment so that the blow was aimed at his chest and, within one second and the next, he wrapped a viper-like arm around my head. As his grip tightened, the human used my own momentum against me to slam my muzzle into the ground.

   The force of the impact sent my body up and over my head before it hit the ground, forcing the air straight out of my chest. Cartoonz let go as soon as I touched down and jumped away from me just as I flipped over and lunged for the human once more.

   Shifting his weight, Cartoonz ducked under my jaw as I came towards him and dealt one powerful blow to my throat. The momentary pain sent me reeling for a second. Then, just as I spun out of control, I turned and slapped my tail across Cartoonz’s face which sent him flying across the clearing. He landed in the middle of what used to be our house with a giant puff of ash and sat up spluttering.

   “What the fuck Delirious!?” The human snarled, standing to face me once more.

   “ _I’ve had enough of you putting yourself down for this whole situation!_ ” I bellowed with growing intensity. “ _You guys- you and Ohm- are both idiots for thinking that the other doesn’t care about you and both of you tear yourselves up about it all the time. Both of you refuse to understand each other and now look at what has happened! You see one detail that suggests that you’ll never have a chance with Ohm again and you immediately give up!? What happened to loyalty Cartoonz? What happened to your perseverance? Where is the wolf that survived several assassination attempts and stood up to_ me _when I was down on myself? What happened to never giving up until there’s concrete proof? Wake up you stupid wolf!_ ”

   For a second, I regretted being so harsh with the distraught wolf but these words had been on my mind for a while. I was never the type to hold back on my thoughts, but these had been kept safe from Cartoonz because I understood that he was suffering. Right now though, his downward spiral of thoughts made me anxious.

   From across the clearing, Cartoonz bared his teeth at me and shook his head.

   “There’s no way he could have survived.” The human snapped with his fists clenched.

   “ _Yes there is_ Cartoonz!" I argued, my tail lashing back and forth. " _Ohm is a powerful and skilled fox. He’s smart.Just because his bandana is lying here and the house is no longer standing, it doesn’t mean that he’s dead. He could have escaped and he could be waiting for us somewhere. Give it a chance!_ ” I retorted, my tail lashing back and forth.

   Cartoonz lowered his gaze and glanced around the ruins of our house. The soot which was left clung to the human’s red shirt as he seemed to contemplate my words. For a moment, I considered pulling down my mental defenses again to learn what he was thinking but I knew that if I did, I would be swallowed whole by his emotions once more.

   “Why would our house be burned _?_ ” Cartoonz mused quietly. Then, his eyes widened and he shuttered, casting a fretting glance up at me. “He could have been captured.”

   I frowned.

   Of course, I knew I was always the danger of people hunting me down for many reasons, whether they wanted to experiment on me or kill me. We'd always kept personal information to ourselves though and, so far as I knew, none of the townsfolk nearby knew what or who I was.

   However, there were still a few others who knew that I was strange in more ways than one. It only took one strange thing to happen for the humans to get curious enough to investigate me. Lord knows that there were many people around the world who would be willing to travel very far just to kill me for the hundreds of crimes that I'd committed as well. It wasn’t hard to imagine then that someone could have come looking for me and stumbled upon Ohm instead.

   “ _Maybe_.” I conceded hesitantly.

   Even without looking into his mind, I knew that Cartoonz abhorred the idea of Ohm being captured just as much as I did. The two of us alone had traveled to hundreds of thousands of countries, tribes, packs, continents, and clans across the world. Each place had something that was imperfect or faulty. It was the human and demon experimentalists of Noanric that scared me the most though.

   Several times, I had met such experimenters when they captured me or when I infiltrated their bases. In a way, they reminded me of the people from my homeland- passionate in nothing but death and destruction.

   My people I could forgive because we were specifically designed and conditioned to care about nothing but blood. The humans and demons of Noanric, on the other hand, had no excuse. They were surrounded by other humans and demons who got along with each other, who helped each other, and who protected each other. In Noanric, humans and demons were taught to compromise with one another in exchange for happiness and prosperity.

   Of course, there are always a few loose cannons though and thus, with their seemingly solitary explosions of gunpowder, wars are started and maintained by both sides. For this reason, I understood the motive behind experimenting on demons and wanting to enslave them. I didn’t agree with it but I understood it.

   So far as I could tell, the whole experimentalist movement started with some humans who had lost their homes and families to the demons who mercilessly slaughtered all who stood in their way. Had I been left to my own devices and let my powers run loose without Cartoonz by my side, I probably would have been one of the many who killed for sport as well. In fact, during my first years on the Surface, I had worked hard to overcome the instinct to kill. Cartoonz himself, I had tried to kill many times, whether through fighting, poisoning, or mental constrictions. This is why I say that he had to go through a lot to simply survive my wrath during those years.

   However, both of us had spent time in the labs thanks to my heritage and other loud mouths who told people of my uniqueness. The labs were terrible places and, although I knew that Zephyra was working to get rid of them, my first instinct was always to rip the whole building from the ground and crush the humans who had afflicted so much pain on the demons. Some demons, I had to admit, were bad but what the humans and demons in the lab did to their subjects was worse.

   Growling, I lashed my tail and looked around at the ashes of our house. It was highly likely that Ohm had been taken captive by such experimenters; after all, that’s normally what happens to demons who go missing. The idea that he could be holed up in some cage though sickened me.

   With a huff, I began searching the area around the remains of our house for any signs of Ohm or his escape. Unfortunately, because I assumed that the house had been attacked when the snow was still on the ground, there weren’t many tracks that could be followed. Most any signs had been wiped out when the snow melted and what was left had probably been covered by the newest vegetation grown this spring.

   Still, I kept my nose to the ground and looked with increasing intensity at everything, from the ground to the fractured poles of charred wood standing as remnants of our house. Yet, I found nothing.

 _There has to be something here_. I thought bitterly.

   “You’re not going to find anything.” Cartoonz piped up from the spot that I had thrown him in.

   I turned to him and unleashed a sound somewhere between a hiss and a growl. “ _Fuck you Cartoonz, alright? Damn you for giving up so soon. He’s not dead. He can’t be._ ”

   Cartoonz shook his head and paced over to where he had put Ohm’s bandana down. I watched him pick up the material with a deft hand and look down at it with a solemn sigh.

   “He’s gone Delirious. There’s no point in looking.”

   “ _I'll prove you wrong._ ” I hissed before spinning around and stalking away into the forest.

   It was entirely possible that Ohm could be dead as Cartoonz said. Unlike the demons of this world though, I had no instincts to tell me otherwise. Any instinct I had had been buried under years of oppression. Even if I could hear my “inner voice”, it wouldn't have told me anything about Ohm. My inner instincts were designed for death and chaos. That's all that they would offer me.

   Therefore, I wasn't quite sure why I was convinced that Ohm was alive. Perhaps I was just in denial. I didn't want to believe that Ohm was dead. He meant too much to me and I valued his friendship greatly. Nevertheless, it was still a possibility.

   Cartoonz and I had met the fox ten years ago. Since then, all three of us had been nearly inseparable. I had to admit that I hadn't been sure of how much good it would bring to let Ohm tag along at first but I quickly realized during our travels that Ohm was an incredible warrior.

   At some point, the fox had told me that he used to be an assassin, trained to fight and kill with maximum casualties or with a poisoned cup. His family had apparently been brought up into this.

   I was fully aware of the bounties on Ohm’s head for some of the things that he had done across the world. This was another reason that it was likely that he was captured or killed. Cartoonz and I were technically outlaws as well though. In other words, all three of us were wanted for several crimes and, a few times, we had actually been caught.

   Somehow though, we always escaped the law. Back when I was younger, I used to think that I was just lucky. Nowadays, I realized that the only reason we ever got away with half of the crimes that we committed was because of Zephyra.

   I met the wolf when I was young. She only allowed the youngest of my kind to stay on the Surface. I assume this is because she figured that, despite our powers being immense because we were so young, her warriors could tame us after they got past the rage.

   To me, this seemed a bit counter intuitive. However, it eventually turned out that the youngest of us were able to bury their prejudices and outrage against the Surface dwellers easier than the Old Ones. The Old Ones knew why they were on Earth. They knew their mission and they would do anything to achieve that goal, even if it meant bowing down for a year or two just so that they could gain people's trust and tear them apart from the inside out.

   I suppose Zephyra learned this the hard way. Yet, her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to take a chance anyway. All across Noanric, Zephyra had already had hundreds of assassination organizations trained in several types of combat. When she made the decision to keep us here, she decided to take one of these many groups and specialized them in training for dealing with us.

   Cartoonz was one of the assassins who had been signed up for such tutoring in order to watch over those of us who were left. He was one of the youngest cadets there. Most everyone else was hundreds of years old. Lucky for Cartoonz, he had been assigned to look after me.

   In some parts, this made sense. Cartoonz was the closest to my Earth age and, after tons of fighting, we found a rhythm that worked between us. Cartoonz never doubted how much pain I got put through by remaining on the Surface with my powers sealed into a giant box and I never questioned his emotions or social skills on Earth. That day though, the day that we discovered Ohm’s disappearance, I doubted his resolve.

   I understood the pain he was going through. What I didn’t understand was why he wasn’t checking the entire area for evidence of Ohm and his possible demise though.

   As I walked through the forest, I searched every nook and cranny for anything that could point me towards what had happened. Yet, nothing came up.

   Just like I did with the house, I kept my nose to the ground and tried to find any sort of scent trail. A few times, I thought I had caught onto something but it always led me to a rabbit hole or straight into a tree.

   I had once thought that I knew Ohm’s scent but I also knew that, if Ohm wanted to, he could have hid his scent underneath that of any type of prey to confuse his attackers. Therefore, I eventually realized that following the scents wouldn’t help me either. Even if I could have picked something up, most every scent trail left by Ohm would have been wiped out by the snow and the start of spring, just like their footprints had been as well. I had to keep searching though.

   At some point during my search, I suddenly received the tingling sensation that told me that someone was watching me. Every once in a while, I glanced over my shoulder discreetly to see if anyone was there but, each time, I found nothing.

   That was until I got to a certain ring of trees. Feigning interest in a small tree sprouting from the ground nearby, I paused to sniff at it and waited for the person to reveal themselves. It took a while, but from the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a large, fluffy orangish-brown tail.

   Immediately, I lunged toward where I had seen the tail with a vicious snarl. By the time I landed though, the person had vanished up the nearest tree.

   With a growl, I looked up into the branches. There, I spotted a pair of golden eyes staring down at me with amusement. Startled by its eyes, I watched the squirrel for a second as the wheels clicked in my head and I realized that it was the one and _only_ Squirrel. After a moment, Squirrel jumped down from his perch and land a few feet in front of me.

   The small animal bounced toward me on light feet, his bushy tail flicking up and down. I flinched as he drew closer and my seal crackled ever so slightly at his presence. However, it made no other reaction to Squirrel so I gave him a tense smile as he came straight up to me and, without hesitation, clambered up my leg until he got to my shoulder.

   “ _Hi Squirrel_ . _I thought you were one of the bad guys._ ” I acknowledged the animal soberly. He flicked his tail and looked at me through wary eyes.

   “ _What’s wrong?_ ” Squirrel asked tentatively, his voice sounding alien and accented compared to the usual canine speech that I was used to. I sighed and sat down as I answered.

   “ _Ohm’s missing_.”

   Without warning, Squirrel toppled off my shoulder in surprise as I shifted on my feet. I caught him with deft claws and gently placed him back on his perch. He shook himself out before hoping up to crawl over my head and dangle himself over my forehead to look into my eyes.

   “ _What do you mean, ‘Ohm’s missing’_?”

   I twisted my lips together and glared at the animal for a second before lightly shaking my head, careful not to dump off my companion in the process.

   “ _I mean, he’s gone. The house is no longer in existence. It was burned to the ground and Ohm has disappeared with it._ ”

   “ _Someone attacked this place?_ ” Squirrel questioned in agitation.

   “ _That's what it looks like at least_.” I responded uneasily.

   Squirrel made a low chittering sound in his chest as he jumped down from my head and looked up at me with solemn eyes. I averted my gaze and slowly laid down on the ground with my head on my paws.

   “ _I failed him Squirrel. Ohm depended on me for his powers and, although he was strong without them, I can’t help but think that I could’ve done more._ ”

   “ _You did all that you could Delirious._ ” Squirrel responded forlornly. “ _Even if we had stayed, Zephyra’s wrath would have multiplied and, if we had taken Ohm with us, she would definitely have killed us. She told us that it was for his safety Delirious. You know that._ ”

   I shook my head and peeled my lips back over my fangs. “ _If it hadn’t been for Zephyra-_ ”

   Squirrel shook his head vehemently and reached up to place his small paws on my muzzle. “ _Don’t you dare finish that sentence Delirious. It’s not Zephyra’s fault nor is it yours._ ”

   Gently nudging the small animal off of my nose, I pulled my head away from him and straightened a little.

   “ _I know but it still hurts._ ” I muttered, turning my head away and closing my eyes.

   The mask on my face generally concealed my expressions and emotions but, to the three people that knew me, I knew that they could tell how I felt from my eyes alone.

   When I was younger, I used to think that my mask was an incredible asset to my person. It was something that helped me hide myself away and, although I was originally meant to blend in with the shadows to overthrow governments, I found that I liked being in the shadows for the complete opposite reason. After a while, the shadows and my mask ended up becoming my escape route, the things that helped me hide from the very people that I was supposed to use them against.

   Now, the mask itself sat on my face like a giant blemish, reminding me that I was meant to be a killer, a cold hearted murderer. Such heritage and intent was bottled up in the very mask that I wore and, especially on the day that we found out about Ohm's disappearance, I felt its weight even more prominently as I realized that it had probably been the very thing that got Ohm captured.

   “ _It's hard living up here Squirrel. I wish I could go back._ ” I mused aloud to my companion.

   Immediately, Squirrel’s face scrunched up and he glared at me through small, beady eyes.

   “ _I’ve told you this once and I'll tell you again. You don’t want to go back. You-know-who has taken the throne and she wields her power without consideration for her people or us. If_ Their _favorite pet hadn't been taken, she wouldn’t have had the power that she has now without taking_ Him _under her wing. You were one of the strongest. If you went back, they would kill you before you even so much as breathed. Plus, don't you think it’s better up here?_ ” Squirrel responded.

   I glanced up at him and shook my head before laying back down. “ _It was but I don't understand how these people can deal with so much grief, so much agony- pain, hunger, betrayal- even fear seems to be chomping on everyone's ankles here. There are too many emotions here._ ”

   Squirrel hummed thoughtfully, his ears flickering back and forth for a moment before he turned in a circle and sat with his back to me, his large, bushy tail gently brushing my nose.

   “ _True. Being up here though, I feel like I’ve been colorblind my whole life. Of course, I’m aware that most of us have a passion for Fire. To me though, Fire shapes our entire existence and it is something essential to_ our _lives especially. Fire is a beautiful creature, one that I am instinctively enthralled with. Yet, I'd never witnessed her true beauty before I came here. Back home, it was almost like the Masters took out all of Fire’s grace in order to maintain a monotonous mindset for us and eliminate a sense of passion. It makes sense too since all of us were bred for war. We weren't made to_ enjoy _things like Fire and her magnificence._

   “ _When I came up here after you called for me, I realized that there was so much I was missing out on. Fire here on the surface is allowed to be whatever it wants. It can maintain every color known to the universe and it can light up a thousand worlds within the blink of an eye. Its light is like no other and, even though I have already spent many years in her presence, Fire continues to amaze me._ ”

   For a few moments, Squirrel paused while I mulled over his words. The small animal sat back on his haunches with a dreamy expression on his face. After a minute, he sighed.

   “ _I know. It sounds weird but my point is that we're much better off staying up here. Part of it is for political reasons as we both know but I also really like how pretty it is up here. It's not just Fire that interests me. The people here are just as colorful as their fire which always concerned me when I first came up here. Just like Surface Fire, there were and are so many complex varieties of emotions within the people here and there were always too many for me to sort through. I learned though, and now I would like to believe that I have emotions of my own._

   “ _I do admit that I would like less of the darker emotions that exist here on the Surface but then I remember what it was like back home._ ” Squirrel huffed a humorless laugh and shook his head.

   “ _Ya know, I have my occasional dream or two here on the Surface and, no matter what, I always wake up with the feeling of dread because, everytime I close my eyes, I see nothing but a place that has been scorched a thousand times over. In that place, I assume my positions and grovel before the leaders. We were all nothing but dogs to the Masters. They had no respect for us. Therefore, I lost all respect for them as well. They are harsh and unloving. I don’t want to go back. Plus, Zephyra takes good care of you. So far as I know, she’s genuine and, unlike the Masters, she cares about every single one of her people._ ”

   As Squirrel spoke, I felt a sense of pride for his development in his independence of thought and mind. Back home, his kind more than mine, had been shoved under the rug like an unwanted secret and stepped on by everybody. Even then, Squirrel hadn’t liked how he was treated but he never had the guts to speak out against the Masters. The punishment for such behavior was severe to say the least. I never spoke up either for fear of what would happen.

   Up here though, people were treated good for the most part and, if the others weren’t nice, they were at least indifferent as long as they didn’t know what I was. The atmosphere on the Surface felt so completely different no matter where I went. Even if I was in the middle of a war, there was still the sense of purpose and drive behind people’s actions, as well as a certain determination to do anything it took to protect the ones that they loved. These people were smart, but it was their emotions that drove them to be good.

   After a moment, I sighed and stood up. Squirrel turned to gaze at me with a compelling look, his golden eyes vibrating with an inner fire that I couldn’t hope to see in anyone but the people that came from my home below the Surface. I smiled a little and leaned down to nudge the animal lightly.

   “ _You’re right... I’m glad I called you up here Squirrel. You’re much wiser than me._ ” I chuckled lightly. Squirrel shied away from me and shrugged in embarrassment.

   “ _Nah. Just more observant._ ” He replied as he scampered up my leg and perched on my shoulder once more.

   I chuckled. “ _Alright, Oh Observant One. Where should we start looking for evidence? Ya know, for Ohm?_ ”

   Squirrel huffed a laugh before humming in consideration. After a moment, he jumped up on my head and stood up to sniff the air.

   “ _Well, what about the waterfall? Ohm was supposed to have gone there to build the dam. He could have been there when whoever was here came for him._ ” Squirrel mused.

   I nodded and arched my tail over my back to tap his head. “ _It’s a good place to start if anything. Good job, my little Observer_.”

   Above me, I could practically hear Squirrel roll his eyes as I started off towards the waterfall. Along the way, Squirrel and I stopped in a few spots to search for clues but, of course, we found nothing. So, we continued on.

   Eventually, we arrived at the top of the waterfall. Unlike the last time I had visited it during the winter, the waterfall was now roaring thunderously over the cliff. Even now, the ground under my paws shook as the water rushed over the cliff at a hundred miles a minute.

   In part, waterfalls always reminded me of myself: unrelenting, powerful, dangerous, and terrifying in all the worst ways I considered possible. Personally, it scared me just like I scared myself. My powers were nowhere near as majestic as the waterfall though.

   “ _Yet another thing I love_ !” Squirrel half-shouted over the waterfall’s thundering cascade. “ _This place is one of my favorites. I do hate it back home but that's only because of the people. The sounds here remind me of our home fire though._ ”

   I smiled and nudged the small animal lightly with my nose. He flicked his tail at me and gave me an indignant chitter before following me as I walked further down the river. Along the way, I once again looked around for clues but found none.

   My eyes were still wandering when I caught sight of the pile of rocks that we had made before we left. The entire thing had been covered in dirt and moss over the past few months and, from the cracks, fresh green sprouts of grass had popped up in the wake of spring.

   As I drew closer, I glimpsed a small tuft of fur wedged in between some of the rocks. Leaning down, I placed my nose right up against it and inhaled deeply. The grass and the fur tickled my nose to the point that I had to sneeze but one thing was for sure; it was Ohm’s fur.

   “ _Squirrel!_ ” I called to my companion over the din of the waterfall. The small animal bounced towards me on light feet and hopped up on the boulders.

   Immediately, he caught sight of the fur and quietly sniffed it. After a moment, he turned to me and shook his head.

   “ _It’s not recent. If anything, it's probably over three months old. I don't think Ohm has messed with these since we put them here_.”

   I contemplated this for a second before letting out a low growl.

   “ _We have to keep searching_.” I ordered as I spun around and stalked off.

   “ _I’m sorry Delirious._ ” Squirrel barked as he chased after me. “ _It just doesn't mean that he was here recently. Spring only started a month or two ago. He could have still been around until that time._ ”

   “ _But that still leaves the month or two that he's been gone for us to fill in what happened. The only thing we know for a fact is that he hasn't been here in at least a month and, if that's the case, where has he been?_ ” I retorted as I paced towards the shore of the river.

   Next to me, I could hear Squirrel begin to speak but he was suddenly cut off by his own surprised grunt. I glanced over to see that he had fallen into a giant hole in the clay around the shore. Then, I realized that it wasn't any ordinary hole.

   In the clay, preserved through what had probably been months of deterioration and the thawing of the river, lay the giant, mutilated paw print of what I assumed to be some sort of canine.

   For a moment, the sight of it surprised me. Squirrel seemed similarly shocked but only because he had fallen in the print. Grumbling, the squirrel hauled himself out of the divut and shook himself off before turning around. It was only then that he gained the same understanding as me.

   Stepping forward, I nudged Squirrel aside once more and turned to face in the same direction as the paw print seemed to be pointing. Careful not to get stuck in the wet clay around it, I pressed my paw into the mud next to the track and pulled it away to compare both of them.

   Sure enough, the paw looked eerily similar to mine, confirming my suspicions of it being a canine at least and the space between the toes, as well as the size, only served to say that it was a dog that was much bigger than me.

   “ _Dude… you’re a dwarf._ ” Squirrel muttered under his breath. I gave him a reprimanding flick with my nose.

   “ _Shut the fuck up man. All Dog Demons are stupidly huge alright?_ ” I growled. Squirrel rolled his eyes and placed his own paw print in the mud between mine and the other one.

   “ _Still… what would a Dog Demon be doing in our territory_?” He asked with a small shiver.

   I frowned. “ _I’m not sure._ ”

   For a moment, we both stood staring at the paw print. It could mean so many things. Perhaps the dog was a lost demon who had accidentally wandered into the territory. After all, the border wasn’t too far from the waterfall.

   Glancing over at Squirrel, I waited until he looked at me before giving him a questioning look. Between the two of us, he was definitely the better tracker.

   The metamorph tilted his head before turning back to the print. He paced around it several times and prodded different spots around the area. This process continued for a minute before Squirrel sat with a thoughtful hum.

   I waited impatiently as he glanced around and observed everything with an increasingly critical eye. Under my skin, I could feel my blood beginning to boil as I considered the idea that this dog had been one of the bad ones. In fact, it could be a demon who had helped burn down our house. So many horrible possibilities raced through my head as this thought crossed my mind and I could only feel my skin crawl with anger. Rage burned in my stomach hotter than I would have liked at that moment, the smell beginning to singe my nostrils as Squirrel glanced up at me with a frown before motioning me over. I stepped closer to him and leaned my head down, careful not to get to close as the seal began writhing around in response to my aggravation.

   “ _What is it_?” I asked him.

   Almost as soon as I asked the question, Squirrel reached out to me with a tiny paw. I immediately flinched away and pulled my front paws up as I sat back on my hind legs.

   “ _You know the rules Squirrel. No touching when I'm upset. It could trigger the seal._ ” I reprimanded him.

   Squirrel scented the air briefly before shaking his head. “ _Sorry. I didn't realize that you were getting angry. I need to borrow some energy though. It’s only a pin prick of power that I need but it can help me start tracking whoever this was._ ”

   Slowly lowering myself back down to the ground, I squinted at the mammal. “ _You can do that_?”

   Squirrel rolled his eyes and made an exasperated motion with his paw. I sighed and stepped towards him once more.

   “ _Alright but I can't give you too much. It could leave residue_.” I conceded.

   Squirrel nodded. “ _I know. I just need a little._ ”

   Sitting down, I leaned my head towards Squirrel and began humming lowly in my chest. My companion turned to me as my meditation began and humbly bowed down under my muzzle while I focused all of my energy inwards.

   As my humming grew deeper, I felt an overwhelming pressure begin building right in the front of my skull, it's pulse riveting and vibrating with radiancy from within my core. A growl of pain worked itself into my chest and stayed lodged there as I continued my meditation. As I snuck past the seal carefully and delved deeper into my pool of power beyond that, my breath grew heavier. Sinking my claws into the ground, I held myself steady and focused on my breathing.

   In for six… out for six… in for six… out for six…

   This process continued for a while as the fire within in me began coming towards me in pulsing waves, like the tides of the ocean. Vaguely, I could sense Squirrel’s concern but I continued nonetheless.

   After about a minute, there came a certain point where the pressure in my head burst and spread throughout my body, seizing every fiber of my being with an inconceivable agony.

   Still, I pushed through it and tried my hardest to get the power down to my paws. The thing I was most worried about was letting the seal sense the surge of power in my body though. If I let so much as a ghost of energy pass it, it would shut down my entire body. Luckily, the patch of skin just behind my ear didn't light up like the rest of my body but I knew it was only a matter of time before it went wrong.

   Somehow by instinct, I could feel my body adjusting to conceal my power from my seal, and then, with a jolt, my body suddenly shut down all together, all of its energy concentrating on four streams of power within my stomach. Blindly, I searched for four pebbles in the nearby river and grabbed each one to hold in my paw.

   Encouraged when the fire within me began draining towards my feet in response, I leaned ever closer to Squirrel and hovered over his head without touching him. The small mammal bowed even deeper with a low squeaking sound in his chest. Summoning the words from deep within my very being, I spoke to Squirrel in the Ancient Language.

   “ **_I, Jonathan Freighventrine, coded as Delirious, deem the one coded as Squirrel worthy of four amulets of power which he should use against our enemies should he acknowledge their worth. Squirrel, do you accept these gifts_ **?” I thundered as Squirrel raised his head up to look at me with intense gold eyes. In them, I once again caught a glimpse of the fire which had scorched my childhood.

   “ **_I accept them with the blood of our ancestors_ **.” He responded in an equally turbulent voice.

   Nodding, I held out the pebbles I had gathered from the river, each of which now glowed immaculately under Squirrel’s nose. The metamorph stared at them for a moment before uncovering a small pouch from his side and carefully grabbing each rock to put in his bag. Each time he touched one, his eyes shined brilliantly and a remnant of the power he held coated his paw.

   As soon as all of them were away, I slammed the gate shut on my powers just as a sharp, internal jab to my neck made me collapse. The sensation felt like a cramp: annoying and vaguely insignificant at first but practically immobilizing the longer I endured its wrath. I hissed and tried my best not to move while the feeling passed.

   In the meantime, Squirrel gave me a sympathetic look, his paw glowing fiercely with the light of my power. I watched it intently, as did Squirrel, and both of us sat for a second, mesmerized by the power which shown from his hand.

   “ _Incredible._ ” Squirrel mused as he hopped forward and hovered his glowing paw over the foreign paw print in the clay, careful not to touch anything on his way.

   As soon as he passed his paw over the track, a blue mist puffed to life and wreathed through the halo of light around Squirrel’s appendage like smoke. Squirrel’s eyes pulsed in sync with his breathing for a second as he observed the track before he frowned.

   “ _The track is over three months old_.” He noted uncertainly.

   I let out a low growl and shook my head. “ _Ohm had to have been here during that time. Is there anything else that you can see_?”

   Squirrel frowned and paced around the edge of the imprint, making sure to light the entire area with his still glowing paw. He lapped the track several times and, each time he passed me, he would make a face as if he was trying to solve the most complex math problem in history.

   “ _What’s wrong_?” I asked him hesitantly.

   Without a word, Squirrel continued his investigation, except now he began widening his circles little by little.

   With a huff, I sat up and moved out of the way as Squirrel tried his best to maintain his circles without stepping in the water off to our side. At some point, he slowed a little before turning and retracing his steps to a spot behind him. It was only then that a bright expression of triumph passed his face but it was immediately squashed by a look of tragic despair.

   “ _What did you find_?” I inquired anxiously.

   Squirrel sighed and briefly glanced up at the sky before sitting down, his glowing paw still maintaining a cautionary distance from the ground.

   “ _There’s barely a trace of it and it took me a second to realize what it was but…_ ”

   A low growl rumbled in my chest as I stood to face the small mammal in front of me, fear already building in my chest while my body shrieked in protest to the movement.

   “ _Tell me what you found Squirrel._ ” I commanded. Squirrel glanced up at me, his frown deepening, before sighing.

   “ _It's Ohm's blood Delirious. It’s combined with the smell of dogs blood as well. I'm assuming the dog blood is from whoever made this pawprint._ ”

   I shook my head. “ _What does that mean?_ ”

   Squirrel took in a deep breath before meeting my eyes. “ _It means that there was a fight and it ended in injuries to them both but, in the end, Ohm was most likely carried out on the dog’s back_.”

   At his words, I felt my heart shrivel up and sink to my feet. Ohm was gone. He was gone but he was injured. He was injured and they carried him away. None of this boded well for us and, in my mind, I could feel my emotions begin to build up and wrap themselves around each other in a vicious battle for dominance.

   Part of me felt guilty because I knew that I should have taken Ohm with us. Even before we left, I had received a strong impression of fear for Ohm’s safety and yet I had ignored it. Part of me was scared that whoever had taken him now had him locked up in some lab like Cartoonz said. Even more so, I was fearful that my origins had been discovered and, as usual, this thought led to a fear of what would happen if I were ever discovered. I could be thrown back to where I belonged below the Surface. Or, like Zephyra once warned me, the Surface people would slaughter me without hesitation. My kind had been responsible for the decimation of many places around the world. Therefore, it was reasonable that these people would kill me… or worse. I could be thrown into a lab myself and tested on. If there was one thing that Zephyra couldn't protect me from, it was everything involving local governments. If they caught me and found out what I was, they had legal rights to kill me. So long as I kept my identity secret, I was safe.

   Now though, Ohm had suddenly been brought into this. Of course, at the time I had no reason to suspect that whoever had come for Ohm was originally after me. However, the possibility ran through my head momentarily and, suddenly, I began desperately racing through my memories to see if I had given any reason for the locals to come after us. I found nothing but the possibility was still there.

   Then, another horrifying thought went through my head.

   “ _The track is three months old… that means… that means that- that Ohm was taken three months ago…_ ” I stuttered as I glanced up at Squirrel. He simply blinked at me and I realized that he had already connected these dots. Briefly, he glanced at the sky and squinted before his gaze came back to me and he stood to pace around the track once more.

   “ _I know. This print was pressed down with much more weight than necessary and it has an ever so slight gait so I think Ohm fought really well but… in the end, he was taken. I'm sure if we looked in other areas, we could find something else as well. Maybe a clue as to who these people were. We both know it would have taken more than one dog to subdue Ohm_.” Squirrel observed as he began moving further up the river, his steps cut through by a slight limp because of his still glowing paw which never once touched the ground.

   I followed him reluctantly while my mind continually chased itself in infuriating repetitions of itself.

   We searched for a while, hoping to find anything else. Not many things stood out to us though just like before. There wasn't so much as a scrap in the ground or a tuft of hair that had survived the rising of the river enough to show itself to us now.

   For a while, fear continued eating at my mind and, every time I moved, it seemed to strike harder at increasing intervals. My body still felt fatigued from the long trip back home but, on top of that, I could feel it eating itself through and through because of the power and concentration that I had used in getting Squirrel the powers he needed. The knowledge that we had no idea where Ohm was or what had happened to him only served to increase my fatigue.

   After a point, my head began throbbing and, eventually, I just stopped and laid down with a deep groan. My mind had already gone blank from the stress at that time so, when the pain became unbearable, I sat, panting on the ground as I struggled to shove my emotions back into the box where they belonged. Still, they persisted.

   “ _Are you alright Delirious?_ ” Squirrel asked as he came up to me.

   I shook my head with a pained growl as stars danced through my vision. “ _I'm so done with everything right now. I was already exhausted and I hoped to come back to peace and to Ohm but it seems neither of those things are around right now._ ”

   “ _I think I know the feeling_ .” Squirrel mused pensively. “ _We have to find Ohm though and save him from whatever torture he’s being put through._ ”

   “ _He could be dead for all we know_.” I suddenly hissed, unintentionally letting my tongue slip on the darker thoughts in my mind. Of course, this thought plagued my mind more than any other possibilities. We now knew that he had been taken but that fact alone only served to increase my fear that we were too late either way.

   Squirrel glared at me and glanced up in the sky before letting out a string of ancient curses under his breath. “ _Don’t talk like that._ ”

   With a growl, I buried my head under my paws, my emotions pressing against my forehead, their force hammering away at my skull.

   “ _I’ll talk however I want._ ” I snarled, the pain in my head making me increasingly unreasonable and nauseated.

   “ _You aren’t yourself right now_.” Squirrel shook his head solemnly and turned to walk away from me.

   On impulse, I automatically jumped up and blocked the small mammal from getting away. “ _How can I be myself? Ohm is missing. He’s gone and it's my fault. How can you expect me to be myself!?_ ”

 _“I don't Delirious. That’s-”_ Squirrel started before I cut him off, my stress busting through as I briefly took out my frustrations on my friend.

   “ _Of course you do! Everybody here expects us to understand why they do the things they do and why they act certain ways and then they expect us to simply accept those things without question! They expect us to be normal when we are far from anything normal in this world._ ”

   Squirrel raised his paws to me and let them hover just over my nose as I ranted. In his eyes, there was no judgement, only sympathy. I paused at this, tears spilling from my eyes.

   “ _I understand that Delirious but you can’t just assume that Ohm is dead. That was my only problem with your statement. I understand your pain but you can’t keep blaming yourself._ ”

   “ _Yes I can._ ” I growled as I turned away from Squirrel.

   “ _What are you so scared of Delirious_?” My companion asked me gently.

   I growled and bowed my head down with a small shake. “ _I don’t know. That’s the problem. I knew something was going to go wrong with Ohm if he stayed and yet I did nothing to stop it. It felt like an instinct but my instincts have always been for death. So, does that mean that my instinct was to take Ohm with us and he would have died on the trip or was it an instinct to actually protect Ohm… I don’t know and that is terrifying because I don’t feel like I’m in control of my feelings. Something is drawing me somewhere and yet I can’t figure out why and I have no clue what sacrifices I’ll have to make in order to get what my body is aching for. I just… I just. Don’t know._ ”

   Squirrel paced around to stand in front of me, his eyes glancing over his shoulder as he came to a stop.

   “ _Do you think that Ohm being taken was part of the plan for whatever you’re being drawn to_?”

   I glanced up at Squirrel uncertainly. “ _What do you mean_?”

   Squirrel hesitated and glanced over his shoulder again before shaking his head. “ _Didn’t Zephyra once say something about your fate with Ohm being flawed or something like that_?”

   With a contemplative hum, I tried searching through my memories for something like what Squirrel described. Yet, nothing came to mind.

   “ _Delirious_?” Squirrel suddenly piped up with another look over his shoulder.

   I glanced sideways at him. “ _What_?”

   “ _Is it just me or has that bird been watching us for a while_?”

   With a confused growl, I tilted my head back to look up in the sky. Just behind us, hovering in the sky, sat an enormous, bald eagle. For a moment, the bird continued floating in the air above us with a blank expression on its face while it watched us, its enormous wingspan casting a shadow across the river.

   Then, all of a sudden, its beady eyes widened with a screech as it swooped down at us. On instinct, I ducked under the eagle’s claws and immediately hunkered down over Squirrel to protect him.

   “ _What the fuck is that_!?” Squirrel barked as he scampered out from under me to look at the bird who had retreated back into the sky.

   I followed his gaze to the giant bird with my fangs bared. For a moment, I felt as confused as Squirrel. As the bird twisted midair to come back towards us though, I glimpsed a hauntingly familiar insignia tattooed across its back.

   Suddenly, the bird burst into flames and dived down at me, its claws extended. With a challenging war cry, I launched myself up to meet it in the air. The Phoenix, however, turned at the last second so that I barely missed its fiery wings and plummeted back towards the ground.

   As I tumbled down to the river shore, my hind legs landing in the water at my side, I could feel my body begin to heat up. Somewhere in the back of my mind, my powers surged to struggle free of their restraints.

   Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem. At that moment though, the seal sensed my rage at this bird and at Ohm's absence and it immediately went to work. Before I could push my anger back down, my body locked up. The seal behind my ear scorched my skin, leaving me paralyzed as the Phoenix dove at me again.

   Before its claws could get too close, a giant wolf paw materialized from the corner of my eye and lashed out at the animal. I quickly realized that it was Squirrel as the brown wolf stood in front of me with his fangs bared.

   With a loud bark, the wolf snapped at the retreating phoenix and began chasing it down. He followed the bird all around the clearing, his powerful hind legs propelling him forward at incredible speeds. Yet, the bird continued dodging him.

   In the meantime, I tried desperately to free myself from my restraints. The more I struggled though, the hotter the skin behind my ear burned. Trying to resist the seal was almost like trying to cut open a frozen plastic water bottle and tearing away the plastic from the ice.

   This was the only thing that I regretted about agreeing to have our powers sealed away. It didn't matter if it was a life-threatening situation, the seal never let us use our power if we had any semblance of an instinct to kill. Once ignited, its fire wouldn't stop until I calmed down either. This meant that I was also cut off from giving Squirrel support against our attacker.

   Luckily, Squirrel was already very quick and resourceful. As I continued struggling internally, I watched Squirrel bounce around the clearing. Several times, he climbed the trees and tried to tackle the Phoenix out of the air. Still, the bird managed to keep a safe distance from Squirrel’s paws, one of which still glowed faintly.

   Never before had I met such a creature, but I had heard legends of a Phoenix that had survived the Great Wars. In the midst of my struggle to free myself from my seal, I realized what the significance of the tattooed mark on the Phoenix’s back was.

   With a gasp, I suddenly recognized it to be one of the many symbols from the Original Generations which meant that this phoenix was probably very important to someone much more powerful than me. Desperately, I tried to get Squirrel’s attention to tell him to back down but the seal held me in place.

   “ _Fuck this_!” Squirrel suddenly snapped from across the river as he missed the bird once more.

   Without hesitation, the wolf then lunged for the bird, his jaws gaping open to catch the aviator. The Phoenix immediately reeled sideways but, just as it moved out of the way, Squirrel’s paw shot forward and caught the bird across the face.

   The Phoenix shrieked and twisted to deliver a similar blow to Squirrel’s face as he dropped back down to the ground. Squirrel yelped and tried to jump away as he landed, but the Phoenix was already diving at him. I watched in terror as the Phoenix spread its claws out and gouged long marks across Squirrel’s shoulders, his claws only coming up with clumps of fur.

   With an earth shattering roar, Squirrel spun around with baffling speed and rushed for the Phoenix again. This time, the bird seemed to be so distracted and scared by the noise that Squirrel made that it had no time to react as Squirrel’s jaws clamped shut around one of its wings.

   Letting out a fierce snarl, Squirrel tore the bird out of the air and slammed it into the ground. I fought even harder against my restraints as I realized what would happen next.

   Sure enough, Squirrel’s head reared back, and he made for the Phoenix’s throat. Being paralyzed by the seal which still scorched my skin, I couldn’t tell him to stop" but it didn’t matter anyway.

   As soon as Squirrel showed signs of even more hostility, the Phoenix opened its beak and screeched so loud that I almost collapsed from the sound. Squirrel seemed similarly affected as he reared away from the bird and tried to distance himself from the sound.

   The Phoenix continued making its horrid sound relentlessly and I watched in bafflement as it lifted itself into the air, its wings hashing out a harsh beat in my head. On top of the roaring of the waterfall, the sound of the Phoenix’s wings created a sound that made me feel as though a vacuum had been placed against both of my ears and was being continuously turned on and off, its force pulling my ear drums back and forth. The sound pressed me into the ground but, after a moment, I quickly realized that my seal was no longer affecting me.

   “ _Sonliazon!_ ” I immediately shouted above the noise, my attention focusing on the giant creature in the sky.

   “ _Sonliazon! Wait!_ ” I howled as my voice came back to me. The Phoenix paid me no mind though.

   I watched on in horror as the Phoenix’s wings began growing bigger and bigger until they became so gigantic that they touched the river each time they came down. Each time they came up, they sprayed water all across us from their fiery tips. Squirrel let out a vicious snarl as he lowered himself to the ground in fear.

   “ _Squirrel!_ ” I shouted and rushed forward to place myself in between him and the Phoenix. “ _Stop!_ ”

   Suddenly, the wind rushed past me and pulled against my skin. I dug my claws into the ground on instinct and crouched down as the air around me surged and crackled with energy. In front of me, Squirrel continued watching the Phoenix in terror as its wings came down like a curtain in between us. I howled at the thought that it would crush my companion.

   It didn’t though. As the Phoenix’s wings touched the ground, they lit a fire that began scorching the ground with a fierce intensity. Then, the appendages lifted once more and I was left with a wall of fire between me and Squirrel.

   Not taking anymore chances, I immediately rushed straight through the fire and charged over to where I had last seen Squirrel. I realized as I approached that the small metamorph still stood where I had last seen him, but he now stood in his squirrel form once more. His paw, which had lost its lustrous glow somewhere in the fight, was held high above his head in defense and his eyes were squeezed shut.

   “ _Squirrel?_ ” I called to him worriedly.

   Slowly, Squirrel’s head lifted, and he glanced sideways towards me, his eyes shining with unspoken fear. I watched him swallow harshly as his eyes drifted back to the bird, who had drastically reduced in size and now sat in front of us with its flaming wings still flared in defense.

   “ _Sonliazon_!” I called to the bird once more as I stalked forward and placed myself in between it and Squirrel. My chest heaved with barely concealed pain and fear as I stood there defiantly. “ _Forgive our ignorance but I believe I recognize that symbol on your back. Who are you and what are you here for_?”

   The Phoenix simply continued staring at a point behind me where I assumed Squirrel stood. Its eyes never left the small mammal even as Squirrel shook himself and ran forward to face the bird once more.

   “ _Fuck you_.” Squirrel chittered furiously as he stood in front of the large aviator.

   The Phoenix simply blinked and took a cautionary step back with its wings held just a little higher. Heat raged around us as the fire from its wings continued to scorch the ground.

   “ _Squirrel. Back off._ ” I ordered the metamorph as his tail flicked angrily.

   The small mammal briefly glared over his shoulder at me with indignance. “ _This thing just tried to kill me and you want me to just back down_!?”

   I nodded slowly, my gaze lifting to look at the bird once more. “ _This one is part of the Original Generation’s troops. I don’t think we want to mess with it anymore. And, to be fair, you tried to kill it as well._ ”

   “ _Because it tried to kill_ you!” Squirrel shouted, turning to face me with a look of betrayal.

 **_“To be fair, I knew I couldn’t kill either of you. You people come from the land of Her Majesty as well_**.” A booming voice spoke, its sound echoing through me, both physically and mentally.

   With its sound, the fire that had kicked up around us suddenly surged and vanished into thin air. The sound of the voice vibrated through my core and surrounded every part of my being as I stared at the singed patches of grass around us in bafflement. If anything, the voice reminded me of the Ancient Master; all powerful and much bigger than I could ever imagine, as if a hundred voices were speaking in perfect unison.

   “ _What the hell is that_?” Squirrel chittered, his voice sounding tiny and insignificant compared to the one we had just heard.

   “ **_Forgive me for attacking you two so suddenly. I suppose I saw something in you that set me off. It has been hundreds of years since I last saw someone from our Homeland. I apologize_ **.” As the voice spoke, the Phoenix began shifting and its wings curled back in against its sides.

   I turned to it slowly and tilted my head. “ _You?_ ”

   The Phoenix nodded. “ **_It is me speaking. I appreciate your observance_ **.”

   A certain sense of fascination rippled through my chest, combined with anxiety, as I looked into the bird’s beady, black eyes and recognized a fire in them that I had only ever seen once before in my entire life.

   “ _I thought your kind came from the Original World. Why do you carry the Ancient Fire?_ ” I inquired anxiously.

   The Phoenix blinked at me before shaking its head. “ ** _You know nothing of Her Majesty if you know nothing of my true history._** ”

   I glared at the enormous, fiery bird. “ _I know a lot of our history and I've never heard anything about your people in relation to mine and the Masters._ ”

   The Phoenix shook its head once more and let out a sound that reverberated through the ground. “ ** _If only you knew my child._** ”

   I snapped my jaws together irritably. “ _I am not your child._ ”

   For a moment, the Phoenix didn’t respond. Instead, it stared at me in a way that I could have almost sworn conveyed sadness. Then, it shifted and turned away from me.

   “ **_I have a message for you_ **.” The Phoenix continued. I let out a hiss and lashed my tail angrily.

   “ _The only one who would be insane enough to send you to me would be Zephyra. In that case, I already know what it is that you have to say. Don't waste your breath._ ” I growled. The giant bird simply blinked at me once more.

   “ ** _You are correct. She did send me. My message to you is that you are to meet Sleohae Valuka at exactly one o'clock in the morning tomorrow._** **_You are not to be late. If you are, she will take away your freedom for the next two months and you will be separated from your Guardian. Do not be late and do not fight her. She will not hesitate to kill you this time_**.” The Phoenix commanded. Then, with a blinding flash of light, the bird spread its flaming wings and exploded into the air. Within seconds, it was gone from sight.

   As soon as it disappeared, I felt a huge weight lift from my mind and I immediately collapsed to the ground. My chest heaved painfully as, once again, the scorched skin of my seal began burning once more. It was only then that I realized that the Phoenix’s presence in my mind had been holding the seal at bay.

   I groaned lowly as Squirrel scampered up to me and bounced around my body in a desperate attempt to figure out what was wrong with me. His voice created a high pitched squeak in my ear drums as I focused on my mental state and began wrestling my anger once more.

   Back home, I was fairly level headed. Up here though, my anger seemed to have been increased tenfold which made sense since we were originally meant to be angry enough at the Surface dwellers to kill them. Getting myself to control the anger meant for the people of the Surface was a little easier for me in regards to practicality because I was, at one point, level headed. Fighting against my instincts felt like trying to cut off my toes with my hands tied behind my back though, especially as the seal raged against me.

   After a while, the pain subsided, and I was left a little out of breath but mostly in control. Squirrel stood in front of my muzzle with a concerned look when I opened my eyes.

   “ _Delirious?_ ” He chittered, his voice infused with concern.

   I shook myself a little, the motion making me a little dizzy. Squeezing my eyes shut, I sat up slowly and sighed.

   “ _That creature has got to be the strangest thing I have ever met up here_.” I growled.

   Squirrel scoffed. “ _You’re telling me. I’m guessing Sleohae Valuka is Zephyra_?”

   I nodded and groaned. “ _It seems that I have a date with the devil tonight._ ”

   Squirrel chuckled nervously. “ _I think the Ancient Ones were much more terrifying than Zephyra_.”

   I stood shakily to look at Squirrel in amusement for a second before shaking my head. “ _You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen her_.”

   Squirrel squinted at me and opened his mouth to say something when a sound coming from the forest off to our side resounded over the still roaring waterfall.

   Spinning around, I prepared myself for another fight. However, just as I turned, I recognized a pair of mocha eyes and a long, luscious brown beard. Around his neck, waving to me in a bittersweet reminder of the fox it belonged to, sat Ohm’s bandana.

   “I saw Phoenix.” Cartoonz told us as he approached. “I figured Zephyra sent them. What did they have to say?”

   “ _You know that thing!_?” Squirrel exclaimed in bafflement. Cartoonz shrugged.

   “I know of it." Cartoonz responded with a shrug. "Phoenix is someone that is seen rare enough to be considered a myth, but they tend to spell bad news for people. Zephyra only sends them out when her news is extremely urgent and time sensitive. Phoenix can travel halfway across the world in less than a day’s time if they need to. Their speed is legendary.”

   “ _So, whatever Zephyra needs to tell me is urgent enough for her to send it after me… that’s not comforting in the least._ ” I muttered.

   “I’m assuming they set up a meeting for you and Zephyra. When will it be and should we stay here until then?” Cartoonz asked slowly as he walked over to the river.

   “ _It didn’t specify a meeting in person, so there’s no point in staying."_  I mused considerably. "Although, _if I’m late, I’m apparently dead, so that’s something to consider. We found something though before that asshole showed up._ ”

   I took a second to fill Cartoonz in on what Squirrel and I had discovered next to the river. He received this news with a hard, guarded expression.

   “So, Ohm could still be alive, but he is most likely in a lab.” Cartoonz surmised. I pursed my lips a little and nodded.

   Cartoonz remained quiet for a while after this as he drank in what all of this information meant for us. In the meantime, I turned to Squirrel and shook my head.

   “ _I commend you for trying to fight the Phoenix, but I would have been fine. You heard it. It wouldn’t have hurt us._ ”

   Squirrel sighed before coming up to me and sitting down. “ _I didn’t know that though. Plus, you were paralyzed. Ya can’t blame me._ ”

   I smiled and pushed him lightly with my paw. “ _I don’t. In fact, I think your awesome for standing up to something that powerful and surviving._ ”

   “You guys fought Phoenix?” Cartoonz muttered quietly in question.

   I laughed nervously and shrugged. “ _Well it wasn’t really our fault_.”

   “ _It was totally our fault._ ” Squirrel countered. I rolled my eyes and turned to shush the small mammal.

   “You guys are dumb asses.” Cartoonz observed with the slightest hint of amusement in his voice. I turned back to him with a gentle smile. He returned a similar gaze to me and sighed.

   “Well, if you guys found something, we should start moving. The faster we find where Ohm was taken, the better closure I’ll get.” The human murmured with an uncertain glance towards the ground.

   I nodded and turned back to Squirrel with a questioning look. “ _Did you see the direction the dog was going when you used the energy earlier_?”

   Squirrel nodded. “ _Already got it covered._ ”

   “ _Good. Let’s head out then_.” I suggested.

   With this, Squirrel shook himself and began shifting back into his wolf form. On the other side of me, Cartoonz began the same process and, within seconds, they became wolves like me once more.

   As soon as they finished, Squirrel led the way up the river to a point where we could cross. I followed behind him while Cartoonz caught up to me. As I hoped, he stayed next to me as we walked.

   “ _I told you I’d prove to you that he was alive._ ” I muttered. Cartoonz glanced sideways at me and heaved a deep sigh.

   “ _Just because he was taken doesn’t mean he’s alive Delirious. I do have hope that we find him. My hope that he was still alive depleted when you mentioned that he could have been taken to a lab though._ ”

   I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “ _You really are a pessimist Cartoonz._ ”

   The red wolf at my side paused before scowling at the ground. “ _No. It’s more like I was an optimist who had his hopes and dreams crushed too many times for my heart to repair itself. I was hoping_ he _would change that. Now, we’ll be lucky if we find him in one piece, dead or alive._ ”

   As we crossed the border, we stopped at the top of the mountain on our western border of the territory. I looked over our small area of land, the place that we vowed to make a home years ago.

   This land was the one that we had built on and come back to after every mission for almost four years now. To leave it felt like ripping out my nonexistent heart and throwing it on the ground without burying it in respect. Next to me, I could see Squirrel and Cartoonz looking over the valley with similar expressions of uncertainty.

   “ _Do you think we’ll ever come back_?” Squirrel asked solemnly, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

   I nudged him lightly with my shoulder, but didn’t answer. Squirrel, more than any of our group, had a special attachment to our home. It was the place that we had claimed shortly after he came to the Surface and it was the only place that he ever seemed to be certain of. This land was the only place any of us had actually called home.

   I had no answer for Squirrel. In all honesty, I had no clue if we’d be back to rebuild our home or not. It sort of depended on when and if we could find Ohm. This fact hit me harder than I thought it would as I committed the sight of our territory to memory.

   Since spring had touched the trees, most of them were lush and full of bright green leaves that had just begun to unfurl from their winter slumber. Slicing through the middle of it all, the river and the waterfall glittered majestically from between the tall trees. There were several clearings in the forest, one of which I knew contained the ash ridden remnants of our house.

   Shining above it all, the bright golden sun glowed brilliantly in its afternoon glory. Gold had always been my most favorite color of fire. Therefore, the sun was the thing that fascinated me the most that last afternoon spent in our home.

   For the rest of our trip, we trudged along in silence. The entire time, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ohm. I made sure to keep my bond with Cartoonz dampened for, even through the blurred line between my conscience and his, I could sense the grief and agony in his heart.

   That night, we hunkered down hundreds of miles from our territory next to a campfire. Squirrel fell asleep first and I had to remind myself, not for the first time that day, that he was still young. Even back home, he had been one of the youngest of his kind. All of this had to be taking a toll on him.

   Cartoonz stayed awake to keep watch that night. Part of me was tempted to stay up with him. However, I knew that the Phoenix hadn’t been joking when it said that Zephyra would kill me if I was late. So, around midnight, I curled up next to Squirrel and let my eyes drift shut.

****

   At first, there was just a slight pressure on my mind. Gradually though, it began increasing and I knew after the first few minutes that it was Zephyra pushing her way through the entanglements of my mind.

   Part of me enjoyed that she had such difficulty getting through my defenses, so I didn’t bother lessening them. Eventually, she made it through anyway and the torches around my mind flared to life as there came a slight thud. The sounds of her claws pacing around almost immediately began clicking through my conscience.

   “Hello Zephyra.” I murmured quietly as I lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

   “Hello Delirious.” The she-wolf responded, her voice echoing around the confines of my mind. I shivered slightly as I was reminded of the Phoenix’s voice in comparison to hers. “I need to talk to you.”

   Sitting up with a groan, I ran a hand through my hair and finally looked up at the wolf.

   No matter how many times I saw her, Zephyra never ceased to baffle me. Of course, I knew she was of the Original Generation and that her grandmother had been the very person who locked up the Ancient Master and his people in the place below the Surface. Looking at her, I understood how her ancestors did it.

   I stood fairly tall for a Demon-Wolf and my agility and power was nothing to be doubted. Zephyra almost dwarfed me and Cartoonz combined in height though and she shared the same broad shoulders as Cartoonz. With me, she didn’t bother hiding this fact. In fact, sometimes I got the sense that she flaunted it just to make sure that I knew that she could take me on.

   To me, it was kind of obvious that she was much more powerful than me. Zephyra had oversaw some of our training exercises back when me and the others were still trying to control our powers. I remember one specific incident where she had to put one of us down as well. Sure, she was curious about us, but she never sacrificed her people. When it came down to protecting us or her people, Zephyra hadn’t hesitated in banishing one of my companions back to where we came from by ripping out her brain from her skull and tearing apart the body.

   It sounds terrible. Trust me. I watched it happen. Zephyra had to be fierce with us though. Had she shown any sign of hesitation or fear, everyone there would have tried to kill her. It had already been tried hundreds of times before that.

   Killing Zephyra had always been our end goal. It was the one thing that we could do to ensure that our mission to take over the world succeeded. If we killed her, a whole family line of people who had imprisoned the Ancient Ones several times over would finally be gone. If Zephyra was dead, the whole resistance to our goal of taking over the world would be dead with her.

   Therefore, she had to be strong and relentless without hesitation if she was to survive our wrath. In certain ways, Zephyra reminded me of Cartoonz which made sense considering that they both came from long lines of powerful families.

   “What do you have to tell me today Zephyra?” I asked as I stood to shake myself.

   The enormous wolf continued staring at me for a moment before she drew herself up to her full immense height and sat down with a graceful sweep of her tail, which landed neatly over her paws. I could’ve sworn the motion was cat-like but she held herself with the unmistakable air of an alpha and a Demon-Wolf combined. Those two made for an intimidating stature and the calm expression on her face was nothing but the cherry on top.

   “I understand that your friend has gone missing.” Zephyra started quietly.

   Immediately, I let out a low growl and glared at her. “The hell do you know about Ohm?”

   Zephyra gave me a somewhat blank look before sighing, her breath sending a gentle breeze through my mind.

   “I know where he is and where he’ll be heading.”

   For a brief second, my brain short-circuited. Of course, it was completely possible that Zephyra knew where Ohm was. She was the ruler of the continent after all which made her jurisdiction far reaching. Anyone could have tipped her off about Ohm’s whereabouts. I didn’t really trust her though. Somewhere in my mind, a part of me still blamed her for Ohm’s disappearance. I knew it was somewhat unreasonable, but the thought still remained.

   “Don’t play with me Zephyra. It’s not funny.” I growled as I began pacing back and forth across my mind.

   Zephyra shook her large head. From across the room, I caught a glimpse of the dark bags under her eyes which were more prominent    than usual.

   “I’m not playing around Delirious. I’m not that heartless despite what you seem to be thinking.” She responded.

   I glared sideways at her. “Stop reading my thoughts.”

   Zephyra frowned. “I can’t stop and you know it.”

   “I could always burn you out. That would definitely stop you.” I suggested, my temper rising.

   Of course, I knew that taunting her was a bad idea but I couldn’t help it. My defiance towards Zephyra seemed to be the only instinct that survived every bit of oppression that had ever been forced upon me.

   Zephyra let out a low growl, the sound making my insides vibrate anxiously.

   “I have better things to do than to bicker with you." The massive wolf snapped. "In fact, I don’t even need to be here. I could have easily left you out of the loop on your friend’s whereabouts if I wanted.

   “My duty as _Kafaira_ is to keep you as far away from influencing my people as possible. Considering Ohmwrecker, albeit a member of the Luseogeum family, is still considered part of that family, my concerns and warnings could apply to him wherever I so choose to interfere. However, out of respect for you and your freedom in _my_ world, I have allowed you to keep him by your side and now he’s gone because I allowed him to stay with you. Don’t blame me for his disappearance.”

   “ _You_ haven’t allowed me to do shit!” I hissed defiantly, spinning on my heel to face the she-wolf. “I do it my damn self! And what is the alternative for not telling me? Would you really leave one of your ‘people’ to rot in the hands of humans and demons who want nothing more than to tear your world apart?”

   A thrill of fear spiraled straight into my gut as the wolf's eyes narrowed dangerously. In them, I saw so much rage that I was surprised I wasn't already dead. The fact that the outer edges of her eyes turned red with malicious intent only served to drive home the dread I felt in my gut.

   After a moment, the she-wolf stood and talked towards me. I stood perfectly still as she began pacing in circles around me, her shoulders flexing with firm muscles which rippled under her fur. A low, intimidating growl made all of my hair stand on end.

   “I honestly have no idea what they do where you’re from. That’s part of what I’ve been trying to figure out by letting your people up here. I’m not sure why you suddenly seem so intent on helping Ohm and why you’re so upset about it. Maybe you guys do have hearts after all.”

   There was a twinge of some unfamiliar feeling in my throat when Zephyra referred to me as a “person”. Perhaps the feeling was gratitude. Maybe it was relief. Either way, I got the unique feeling that she was objectively curious about us, which was better than everyone else who treated my kind with harsh and spiteful words. This feeling created a strange sense of appreciation in my chest which I tried and failed to hide.

   After a moment, Zephyra seemed to sense this feeling as she stopped in front of me and peered sideways at me to look into my eyes. A wave of electricity passed through me once our eyes met.

   It was always like this whenever I met Zephyra. We would fight and yell and snarl but Zephyra’s treatment of me was so baffling that we always ended up like this… stuck in reluctant understanding of the complicated positions that we were in.

   I allowed the feeling to pass through me and fade through my paws, into the floor of my subconscious as we gazed at each other. Zephyra, on the other hand, shook herself before growling lowly.

   “For your information, I would not forsake him. Even someone like you I would save if only to protect them from the horrors of what happens within the confines of those labs…” The she-wolf trailed off and I had to remind myself that she had spent hundreds of years in the human’s clutches at one point. In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had learned their newest and most gruesome techniques from studying her all those years ago.

   For a moment, Zephyra paused in her pacing and swung her head around to meet my eyes with a strange expression. I shifted away from her.

   “What?”

   For a while, she didn’t say anything. Then, her blue eyes were struck through with purple streaks. She shook her head and looked away.

   “You confuse me sometimes.” She commented uneasily.

   I rolled my shoulders uncomfortably and looked away. “I confuse myself sometimes.”

   Where I was from, we were meant to hate Demon-Wolves. They were terrible, judgmental pricks who wanted nothing but the death of our kind and our Masters. Although it was true that the Demon-Wolves especially wanted the Masters dead, I had learned that Zephyra was nothing like what we had been taught about her kind.

   The Masters deserved the Wolves’ hatred though. I had listened to the Wolves’ side of the story from Cartoonz about their perspective on what had happened during the Desolation back on the Original Planet. When I thought about it, their oppression had been surprisingly similar to ours back home. At home, my kind and Squirrel’s had been stepped on like dogs. We were ordered around and forced into doing things that some of us never wanted to do. The Wolves on the Original Planet had also been in the same position under our Masters’ orders. In that sense, I related to them greatly.

   “I don’t remember the Desolation, but I share a body with someone who helped create it and the Great War. Trust me. I know your Masters and I know their insanity.” Zephyra murmured with a hesitant glance up at me.

   I averted my eyes from her and looked down at my feet. Then, a thought occurred to me as my mind drifted back to what it had been thinking about before. “How long?”

   “How long what?” She responded with a curious quirk of her head.

   “How long have you known about Ohm?” I specified with gritted teeth.

   Zephyra’s lips made an “o” shape as she nodded. “I know what you’re thinking. You think that I’ve been keeping information from you until you returned from your mission. Your mistaken though. I only heard about it yesterday. That’s why I sent Phoenix. I knew it was dangerous to send him for several reasons, but they were the only ones who could get to you fast enough.”

   I let out a groan and rubbed my hands harshly over my face. For a moment, I stared up at the ceiling before bringing my gaze back down.

   “So, what do you know about Ohm?”

   Zephyra shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t know much. I’ll tell you that right now. Like I said, I kind of know where he was and where he is heading though.”

   I waited for her to continue, but when she didn’t I sat down and rolled onto my back with a groan.

   “Would you like to elaborate?” I growled impatiently.

   For a moment, Zephyra didn’t respond. From her, I began to sense that something was off but I couldn’t quite tell what it was.

   “Right. Sorry. Had a lapse of thought.” She apologized, her voice shifting vaguely as though she were shaking herself. “Anyway, I received some information about some people that saw a group of humans and a Dog Demon who were carrying a fox fitting Ohm’s description through the forest about a month or two ago. The report didn’t come through for a while and it was ignored because it seemed insignificant. I checked into it though and it was definitely Ohm.”

   “So, he was captured.” I mused quietly.

   Zephyra sighed. “Yeah. From the description of the people, I think he was placed in a lab as well, but it seems that you already suspected that.”

   I winced at her words and sat up to bury my face in my hands. “We did think that, but I was hoping that that wasn’t the case.”

   Zephyra didn’t say anything for a good minute. When I looked up, I realized that she had sat down as well. Once again, I noticed the darkness of the bags under her eyes. Mildly concerned, I stood and walked towards her only to crouch just a few feet from her head.

   “Hey. Are you alright?” I questioned the giant wolf.

   Zephyra shook her head and looked up at me forlornly. “I never meant for Ohm to get hurt. If anything, I completely expected him to go with you guys like he always does. I thought that he would go and that nothing would happen or he wouldn’t and… well, I didn’t even think that that was a possibility.”

   I squinted at the wolf, baffled by her words as they sank in. “You specifically instructed us not to take him with. What do you mean he could have gone with us?”

   Zephyra shook her head and looked directly into my eyes. “I mean, I expected him to go with you. I didn’t think he’d stay behind. He never does.”

   Listening to Zephyra speak these words felt like my entire world had crashed down upon me. Even in the real world, I could feel my body become alight with newfound fire as newfound guilt rushed over my conscience. Zephyra let out a fierce snarl and crouched down, her eyes flickering back and forth as fire surged and roared to life in my mind. I watched the flames with increasing despair as I once again considered the possibility that we could have taken Ohm with us and all of this could have been avoided.

   “He could have gone with us… He could have gone with us… This wouldn’t have happened if he had gone with us… he could have gone with us… he should have gone with us… This wouldn’t have happened… We should have taken him with… We should have done it anyway… Now Ohm is gone because I left him here… I left him… Now, he’s gone… It’s my fault… It’s my fault… It’s my fault… He could have gone with… us… he could have...” I muttered over and over, tears building behind my eyes as the fire in my mind raged louder and louder and my ears began ringing.

   As these words repeated in my head a thousand times over, Zephyra growled and slowly approached me with her ears laid flat against her head.

   “Delirious!” She howled against the winds of my grief. “Snap out of it! It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known!”

   “Why does everyone keep saying that!?” I snarled, my eyes lifting to see into hers. “It is my fault! What you said proved it!”

   Zephyra continued forward and, in a split-second solution, she suddenly placed her paws on other side of my head.

   Immediately, I became overcome with an immense presence, its emotions and thoughts so different from mine but yet so familiar. All at once, fear, anger, betrayal, and sadness hammered down into my conscience like a sledgehammer and surrounded my thoughts and emotions with their own. In this new presence, I sensed an overwhelming fear of failure and struggles so profound, both internally and physically, that I began to cry even harder because, at that moment, I understood everything it understood, and I knew that it had done the same with me. It understood me just as I understood it.

   It took me several seconds to understand that this was Zephyra. What I saw, what I heard, it was all Zephyra’s thoughts and emotions. In her mind, she felt grief so similar to my own and, although part of it was directed towards Ohm and millions of others who were trapped in the human labs, I caught glimpses of a girl with afro-like hair who Zephyra imagined the worst for.

   In her mind, I caught glimpses of millions of weapons and needles that were splattered with blood. I jerked away from a specific set of thoughts, some of which contained gruesome images of Zephyra on a table, her skin being torn apart by humans and demons alike, each one of them faceless and cold hearted in her eyes.

   Her thoughts circled around these memories and they raced around a central idea that the girl with the afro hair and Ohm were the ones on the tables and she could do nothing but watch like she had done with hundreds of others during her times in the lab. These thoughts plagued most all of her emotions and I suddenly realized that it was these thoughts that were slowly driving her insane. In fact, there was a part of her mind that seemed especially insane, and the more that I looked at it, the bigger it seemed.

   After what seemed like an eternity of being in her head, Zephyra pulled her paws away from my head with a gasp and collapsed to the ground, just as breathless, if not more breathless, than me. I gazed down at her in bafflement, our chests seeming to heave in unison as we tried to understand exactly what we had seen in the other’s mind.

   “What the hell was that?” I growled uneasily.

   Zephyra rolled her head over the ground in an effort to shake it and groaned. “I don’t know but I think I’ll have a headache for the next twenty years.”

   I scoffed and rolled my head back on my shoulders. For a moment, I couldn’t get the flashes of color or terrible images from Zephyra’s mind to disappear from behind my eyelids. Never before had I seen such colorful and frightening thoughts. Even Cartoonz’s mind hadn’t been as extravagant as hers. Zephyra’s mind though, it extended into hundreds of thousands of directions with so many turns and twists that I got dizzy just trying to recall what they looked like. In her mind, she thought of everything at once.

   In some ways, I saw the advantage of this. It meant that she could think quicker simply because she was already thinking about literally everything. However, the labyrinth of her thoughts felt so confusing that even I found that I couldn’t catch up with it.

   One image from Zephyra’s mind stuck out to me though as we sat there.

   “Who’s the afro girl?” I asked breathlessly as I looked up at her.

   Zephyra let out a low growl and shook her head. “Someone you’ve never met.”

   I scowled at the wolf and stood to look down at her. “Probably. She’s important though, isn’t she? So, who is she?”

   For a moment, Zephyra laid there without a word. Then, she jumped up, her head barely missing my chin, and began walking away.

   “Trust me when I say that I understand your pain in losing someone you love to those labs.” She growled.

   I shook my head and made to follow her but paused when I realized that she was making to leave. “After seeing what’s inside your mind, I don’t feel like I could doubt it.”

   Zephyra paused in the middle of the room before turning back to me. “After being scorched by your mind, I don’t doubt that you know how I feel.”

   I nodded and took in a deep breath. “Tell me where Ohm is then.”

   Zephyra nodded and opened her mouth to respond but stopped just as she started her first word. I stared at her face as it slackened for a moment. Then, something in her stance shifted and the right side of her face became profoundly dark and I found myself once again looking into the insanity which tainted the outer edges of Zephyra’s mind.

   I let out a warning growl as this newer version of Zephyra turned to me and lowered her head.

   “ **I have a message for you**.” Zephyra spoke, her voice echoing through my mind just like the Phoenix’s voice had. I crouched low to the ground and waited for something else to happen. The only thing that did happen though was Zephyra continuing on without note of my hostility.

   “ **_South of the abrasion, there can be such an occasion where your antagonizer comes on high feet. To get reinforcements, you must use better Judgement and look west to see your friends meet. But a warning to the wise, before you surmise the meaning of your defeat: The one with gold eyes will protect your valued life as long as you don’t overheat._ ** ”

   And with that, she vanished.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> I know that I'm like three days late but I did get this chapter done close to my two week time period~ I am so unfathomably frustrated by the amount of work I've had lately in school so I apologize if the contents of this chapter are a little confusing. Hopefully, it made sense.
> 
> On the topic of last names: I know that Delirious’ “last name” in this story definitely isn’t what it is in real life. This is because we actually have no concrete clues on what his last name is. It’s the same for Ohm. So, I made one up. I have a lot of respect for YouTubers who can maintain a certain amount of anonymity for such a long time and yet never make a slip as to their appearance or their real lives in general. Therefore, I have never gotten in the habit of calling any of these such people by their real names and I don’t intend to do so very often.
> 
> Also, the inspiration for Cartoonz wearing Ohm's bandana came from a Rainbow Six thumbnail of Cartoonz's which was titled In Memory of Ohmwrecker. I love the concept that was used for the picture so I added it into this chapter~
> 
> I'm not sure how Chapter 11 is going to work because I leave for a drive down to Texas very very soon. In fact, I’ll have to rush to pack within the next hour after this is posted because I’ll be on the road for a wee. Yes, I did say drive to Texas and it will be almost a day and a half in the car to get there from where I live… I’m gonna die ^^’ It’ll be fun though and I look forward to it but I’m not sure how much writing I'll get done for next chapter since I can't write on the road due to car sickness and we will be on the road for about a week with only a few moments of reprieve. Either way, I hope to finish chapter 11 by the first week of January so just stay tuned~
> 
> Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you get everything you ever wanted this year~
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence and major injuries will be visited in this chapter
> 
> Hello everybody! I know I’m late, but I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year~
> 
> I apologize for the wait on this chapter. I know I said that I’d try to get it out by the first week of January but, as you can see, that didn’t happen, so now I’m giving it to you at the end of the first full week of February ^^’ I actually had a good head start on this chapter about a week or so ago but I had to rewrite/reorganize that version because it didn't make any sense which has only extended my hiatus.
> 
> In any case, something that I would like to mention in relation to this chapter is that, when it comes to betas, they are, by nature, telepaths. At least, they have the power to enter the minds of their pack members in order to check on mental health. That’s why Evan mentioned something about them being inept to particular illusions of their pack’s minds in like the first chapter… at least, I think that's where I mentioned it. The extent of which betas can use their mind is extremely varied though and it’s based on their experience of course. Mini will reiterate this later on in the chapter as well.
> 
> I also have some Vocab for the Day.
> 
> In the chapter, Mini calls his leopard “Gatroin” (Gah-troy-ne) and the leopard, in turn, calls Mini “Niamun” (Ni-eh-moon). I derived these from the Spanish term for cat which is “gato” and the Japanese term for human which is “ningen”. It’s pretty simple and, the further we get into this story, the less and less I’ll explain the reasoning behind my names for things but, for now, I’ll leave you guys with this information.
> 
> In accordance to the timestamp for this chapter, I would like to mention that this is the day after chapter 9. In other words, the fight with the fox happened yesterday for these guys.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

**Mini’s Perspective**

**_The next day_ **

   (Everything spun as I stood up from the tree which I had fallen asleep against. For a second, the ground beneath my feet lurched sideways and the edges of my vision rocked back and forth violently as if I were standing on a boat in the middle of a storm. The waves hacked away at me with a vicious vengeance while I struggled to maintain my balance.

   Slouching over, I reached out to balance myself with the tree next to me, a dull throb pulsating in the back of my neck and my head. Extreme nausea and bile rose in my throat as the darkened floor beneath me swung back and forth. I shook my head in an effort to get the sickness to go away but the wave of vertigo persisted.

   In the silence of the world that I woke up in, my breath sounded unnaturally explosive against my eardrums. I tried to block out the sounds by covering my ears, but the hounding reverberations of my breathing continued nonetheless.

   Briefly, I remembered that I had been dreaming about something before I woke up, but even as I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed both of my hands over my face, I couldn't quite grasp what it had been about.

   With a growl, I turned to face the tree that I had been leaning against and went to place my forehead against it. I didn’t even think about what I was doing as I put my full body weight into the motion.

   My heart beat shot up into my chest as I fell. It felt as if I had been dropped from a twenty-story building instead of falling just a few feet. Any instinct I had to catch myself evaporated as I fell face first on what felt like cement, pain exploding through my nose and my chest.

   A hiss of pain erupted from my throat only to come out as a forced groan as I rolled over and clutched at my chest, willing my breath to come back to me. Each time my chest expanded though, it felt like a thousand daggers sliced through my lungs.

   As I lay there, gasping for breath, every fiber of my being was clutched tight with inconceivable agony and I could feel myself getting light headed as a scorching fire roared through my veins. I tried rolling around on the ground in some nonsensical effort to get rid of the pain but, the more I struggled, the more my panic increased.

   At some point, my eyes flew open and I was left staring into a darkened abyss. There was nothing around me but a pitch black void in which the only thing I knew was pain and fear. For a second, I was convinced that I hadn’t opened my eyes at all.

   The tree that I had been laying against was gone. There was no cement floor below me even though I could feel something hard under my side. Everything around me was pitch black as if I'd been dropped into a pit of tar, the silence and emptiness suffocating.

   I stared around in horror, the action interrupted by a cough which got stifled in my throat as I choked on some sort of liquid. Rolling onto my stomach, I instinctively lifted myself up off the nonexistent ground below me and hacked up a clout of blood, my throat constricting around the bloody, congealed chunk. The sound of it splattering all over the ground sickened me as I struggled to clear most of the congestion from my chest.

   I couldn't remember why I was coughing up blood. There was no reason for me to be in this much pain… so why was I experiencing these horrible things?)

_My answer came to me as someone kicked me in the ribs, their boot making a sickening crunch while pain ruptured through what seemed like every bone and organ in my body. I fell to the ground as someone kicked my arms, the blow snapping my bones in half with ease._

   (I screamed my pain and terror into the abyss, but no sound came out as months of agony wrought havoc on my mind. Between the beatings, my broken ribs from the boots, my broken nose from hitting the floor or maybe another boot, and the mental fire scorching my mind, every conscious part of me felt like it was being ripped apart and spliced back together in all the worst ways possible. Everything felt so horribly wrong and excruciatingly painful.

   Somewhere in my mind, there existed half of an instinct to heal myself from all of my injuries but, every time I tried, more pain seared through me, as if someone had trapped my healing abilities in a metal box. I rammed against these invisible mental restraints in an effort to fix what was wrong with my body but the metal chains around my conscience refused to budge. Thus, I was left to my despair as I struggled to release myself from the torture.)

   (Briefly, my thoughts split and most of the pain was lifted from me enough for me to hear someone howling with ineffable grief as their dreams wasted away and they were left sinking into despair.)

 _Suddenly, a light sprang forth from down the hallway_ _and speared through my_ eyes. _(_ I was seated in a metal cage now _.) It was as though I had looked directly into the sun._

_I hissed and reeled away from it, squeezing my eyes shut in an effort to close out the light but to no avail. The light persisted, as if it shown from my eyelids themselves and not the light in the hallway._

_Several hundreds of voices seemed to scream from the darkness around me as the sounds of heavy footsteps thumped down the hall. I could almost hear everybody shrink and hiss as the boots passed them. Feeling their anxiety, I instinctively shrunk into my metal confines as well._

   (Part of me wanted to believe that nothing I felt, or saw, was real but everything seemed so personal.)

_I couldn’t see much besides the lights blinding me, but the scents and  the sounds in the air told me everything I needed to know. From the air, the smell of rotting flesh and sickness wreathed around me in a sickening taunt. The smells of fear and grief which were intermingled with these scents only served to paint in my mind vivid pictures of the people who were suffering next to me._

_From them, I received glimpses of needles, spikes, fangs, claws, monitors, surgeries, incisions, and many other things which left me petrified, my body and mind both seizing up. Why did these terrible things happen? What else happened beyond the cages separating us?_

_Empathy, and therefore more pain, ensued as I imagined how many family members and friends these people had lost. How many of their friends and families had been slaughtered just so they could be thrown into the lab that I now shared with them?_

_I was suddenly ripped from my thoughts of the others when my cage was flung open, the metal door hissing loudly, and my front paws were grabbed and yanked on._ (Why am I in a cage!?)

 _Renewed pain exploded through my arms as the person tried their best to rip me from my cage._ **(Mini!)** _I yowled and snapped at their hands but was met with nothing but metal coverings protecting the soft flesh underneath. Nevertheless, I struggled even as the person continued pulling and I could feel the burns on my arms rip open once more._ (Burns?)

   (Then, as if my brain had skipped several moments in time, my vision halted and was immediately replaced with another. This time…)

_I was strapped onto a metal table, the material harsh and unforgiving under my side. With every breath I took, I could feel my ribs scrap and stretch my skin. Even my stomach felt bereft, so much so that I could sense where the space between my ribs and my gut slumped down in a huge divot._

_Above me, I could sense something heavy and dark, yet I never opened my eyes. If I opened my eyes, I would see the souls of all these people around me- if they were even conscious enough to be called people_. (Wait… What?) _The sight of these people would scar me more than any physical injury would._ (Souls?)

 _So, I accepted my fate without looking, pretending to be stoically indifferent even though I could hear the hum of the machine as it roared to life._ (What machine?)    _My heart hammered away at my chest and, because of the malnourishment of my body, I was sure that the experimenters could see it behind my ribs._

 _They probably enjoyed it_. (The thought hissed bitterly in the back of my mind.)

_Somewhere through the flurry of sounds ringing through my ears, I could hear my heart monitor pick up speed. Suddenly, I couldn’t handle it anymore._

_With a muffled shriek, I struggled against my restraints with renewed vigor. Each time I shifted, electricity shot through my body, making my muscles spasm. Despite this, I continued fighting, a chilling sense of despair slithering down my spine._ (What is happening!?)

 _I continued fighting for the sake of freedom, for my family, for the three figures who showed up in my dreams speaking to me in voices that should have seemed so familiar_. (What three figures? What the hell is happening!?) _Already, I was beginning to forget them, but I clung to their images nonetheless._

 _They would help me. They would save me… Right? They could save me from my madness._ (Madness?) _From my pain. From my agony._ **(Mini!!)** _I could curl up with them once more and I would be safe… right?_ (What are you talking about?) _They would help me… they would save me… they would find me… the three figures… They would help me… they would find me… they would save me… did they even know I was gone though?_ (What is happening!?)

 _How would they know how to help me? How would they know where I was? How could they save me if they knew nothing?_ (They’ll help you. They have to.) _How could they find me? How could they save me? Were they home yet?_ (What?) _Had they been captured too?_ (I don’t know.) _They would save me though right? They would save me before the needle touched down?_ (What needle?) _Before the humans drilled into me?_ (Drill?) _Before they burned me again? Before they took away my powers? It was too late though… wasn’t it_? (Why is it too late? Why are there drills? Why are you in my head!?) _Where were they? Who were they? Where have they gone?_ (Why are you asking me!?)

 _Help me. Help me before it touches me!_ (I can’t!) _Help me before they kill me!_ (I can’t! I’m sorry!) _Why have you forsaken me?_ (I haven’t) _Why won't you help me?_ (I’m trying!) _Where are you guys?_ (What are you talking about?) _Who are you guys?_ (Me?) _Where are you!?_ (I’m here.) _Where are you?_ (I’m here!) _Help me! Please! Help!_ (I’m trying!)

 _The needle crept closer to my forehead as tears streamed down my face. I screamed for them to stop but they didn't hear me. They didn't understand that I was begging for my life. I writhed around on the metal table as the needle approached. Then, I felt the metal tip dig into my forehead._ (No… no no no.)

 _Not again. Not again! Help me!_ (I’m so sorry.)

_I howled with fear as the hum of the drill increased to echo through the metal room. Tears stained my cheeks like the blood from my burns as I let out a muffled yowl of terror. Then, just as pain exploded through my skull with the hum of the drill, I blacked out._

**_****_ **

**(Mini! Wake up!)**

   I shot up out of bed with a wild cry, my hands coming up to cover my ears. The buzzing of the drill shrieked through my head as I surfaced from the nightmare, the smell of death, sickness, and fear still clinging to my nose.

   For a moment, I was entirely convinced that I still sat in the metal cage. The grief of those around me plagued my conscience and, even though I resisted these thoughts with vehemence, I failed at escaping their grasp.

   In my mind, I had been the one that was experimented on. In my mind, I had experienced the pain and suffering of all of those around me as well as my own. For a singular moment in time, I felt like I had been the one strapped to the metal table with burned arms and filleted skin from malnourishment and hundreds of needles and incisions.

   Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that I hadn’t actually lived through any of what I had seen. Yet, pain continued seizing my muscles. Vaguely, I could sense a long, deep gash in my left side which burned with a vengeance as I curled in on myself and, when I craned my head down, my neck throbbed with deep bite marks. These wounds only seemed to prove that what I had seen was real.

   “Mini. Mini!? Craig!” A voice from the outside world boomed.       

   On reflex, I snapped at the hand I could sense in front of my face, my fangs clamping shut around the appendage. Just before I could fully bite down on it, an overwhelmingly familiar scent smothered my nose, causing me to flinch away violently and release the hand in my possession in the process.

   Immediately, I opened my eyes, only to be greeted by a man with fluffy hair and gorgeous blue eyes. For one terrifying moment, my breath caught in my throat and I thought I was choking again. The smell of blood in the air only seemed to confirm this suspicion.

   “Craig? Craig, look at me.” The man demanded, his hands coming towards me hesitantly.

   I instinctively swatted his hands away, my temples throbbing with an aching headache. The things I had seen in my nightmares howled through my mind with a vigor that I never thought would have been possible. I tried pushing them away. Every time I made a move though, they hissed to life and increased their hold on me.

   They had such a strong hold on me in fact that, when I felt a pair of soft hands touch my exposed knee, I jumped so far off the bed that I fell over and landed on the floor below me. As soon as I hit the ground, I scrambled blindly towards a wall. There, I huddled into the shadows in the fear that whoever had touched me was a person from the lab coming to experiment on me again.

   “Craig. Craig. It’s me.” The man’s voice spoke once more in the distance.

   I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, my hands coming up to cover my ears again.

   “It won’t stop. They won’t stop. There’s so much pain. They’re all in pain. Why are they so cruel? Why do they have to suffer? Why are they so horrible?” I seethed, my body shaking violently with the images that flashed behind my eyelids. The hum of the drill resounded through my mind and people howled in agony as they were tortured.

   “Craig. I have no clue what you’re talking about. Come back to me. Please. Just concentrate on me. Do you know where you are?” The person in front of me inquired in a low, soothing voice as he tried to get my attention.

   I hissed angrily at the voice and shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t know!”

   “Do you know who I am?” The man questioned.

   For a moment, I almost shook my head again, but I did know the voice. Somewhere underneath the writhing images of my nightmare, I recognized this person and his voice. He was the one person that I had dreamed of many times before, the one that had calmed my fast beating heart several hundred times before. The voice belonged to the one person who I cared for on a profound level. The person who had brought me back from the brink of my panic many times in the past.

   “Tyler?”

   Gradually, I opened my eyes and was greeted by the same man from a moment ago who sat, crouched, in front of me. He kept his hands to himself, as I expected he would, and I realized that it was in fact Tyler that sat in front of me.

   “Fuck me.” I hissed, my vision swimming as I reached up and pressed the palms of my hands into my temples. The people in my dream still shrieked to life under my thoughts and, every time I moved, I could feel pain lancing up my sides.

   With a growl, I stood to move towards the tiger who sat a few feet away from me. Tyler stayed where he was until I reached out for him. Only then did he get up and take a step towards me.

   Just before I reached him, I stretched a little too far and my side exploded with agony. I fell hard and fast, just like I had in my dream. Instinctively, I reached out for something to hold onto and found purchase in Tyler’s shirt as he rushed to catch me. I fell into his chest with a groan and, together, we collapsed back down to the ground.

   Tyler released his own pained grunt as his back collided with the wooden bed frame behind him. Instant guilt filled my mind as I tried to help him by lifting myself off of him. My strength had already dissipated altogether though, so I didn't get far.

   For a moment, Tyler seemed uncertain of what he should do. This hesitation only lasted a second before the alpha wrapped his arms around me and straightened against the bed behind him with me in his arms. I followed his movements to the best of my ability but, for the most part, I could do nothing but remain limp.

   Pain still throbbed through my head as well as my neck and my left side. For a brief second, Tyler’s arm brushed the side that was already burning which caused me to hiss. The pain caused a series of explosive screams to echo through my head. I groaned as I tried to ignore their terror.

   “Sorry. I didn’t mean to touch it.” Tyler apologized with a soft voice.

   I rubbed my head into his chest, dousing my nose in his scent in a last ditch effort to get the smell of death out of my nostrils. “It's alright. It just hurts.”

   Tyler shifted with a low grunt to hold me in a more comfortable position before grabbing one of my hands and holding it in his. Through his fingertips, I could feel his heartbeat, and, with a great amount of effort, I willed myself to only concentrate on the pulse beneath his skin.

   Gradually, the shrieking voices in my mind became muffled and, even though I could still hear them, they soon became white noise. With great effort, I also found that focusing on Tyler meant that I could momentarily escape the pain. Drowning myself in his scent and steady beating heart, I found a split second of peace after the chaos of the morning so far. As we sat there, I made a conscious effort to ignore the images from the nightmare.

   I wasn't sure when Tyler and I discovered the idea that the heartbeat in his hands could keep me calm. If I thought about it, I think this habit started just before we started dating. Back then, I used to have panic attacks frequently and there were many reasons for me to be scared in general. Tyler always seemed like a trustworthy person and, in him, I saw the potential of a great friend and ally. So, I went to him most of the time when I had panic attacks.

   Tyler soon became my safe place, the greatest friend and, later, the greatest boyfriend I could ever ask for. He was the one who understood my boundaries and how to deal with my attacks. He knew not to touch me and to let me come back on my own whenever these things happened which is why I could still feel his hesitation even as he hugged me tight to his chest.

   Normally, I wasn’t violent while having panic attacks. However, there had been a few occasions where I got extremely emotional and Tyler would do or say the slightest thing which caused me to lash out. Therefore, I understood his hesitation when dealing with me that morning, especially because I had already almost bitten him once.

   I'm sure it was during our first year of knowing each other that I found an easier way to calm down from my panic attacks through the heart beat in Tyler’s hands. It was the one thing that I learned I could consistently count on to bring me back. Tyler was the person I trusted the most.

   It was no surprise then when I began crying into the alpha’s chest, the memories of the lab still stinging at my aching body. Tyler was patient and calm for me, his heartbeat deliberately growing slower and his hand ever present around mine.

   Still, even though I could feel my heart slowing down, the pain didn’t go away. In general, my whole body ached as if I had ran ten miles last night and went to bed without stretching. Mostly though, I knew that the pain was concentrated in my neck and the entire left side of my torso. Every time I shifted, the pain and the visions fought to gain control of me again.

   “What happened to you?” Tyler asked after a while, pressing his free hand into the back of my head to keep me in place and resting his chin over my head.

   I rubbed my face against his chest in an effort to shake it, not really realizing that I was smearing my tears into his shirt. “I don’t know. It still hurts though.”

   Tyler hesitated before he pulled away slightly and looked down at me. I kept my head bowed, partially embarrassed and ashamed of my tears.

   “Where exactly does it hurt?” The alpha asked gently, his hands coming up to encompass my cheeks. With delicate strokes of his thumbs, he brushed away my tears from my cheeks.

   I gazed at him in solemn gratitude before shaking my head, wincing as more pain shot through my neck. “Everywhere. My neck and my side are bothering me the most though.”

   Tyler frowned before releasing me. Carefully, he pushed himself away and got up to crawl around me on his knees until he could look at my back. I turned my head to face him, but he stopped me. His fingers gently pressed into my cheek until I was looking straight forward once more.

   “Look down a little.” Tyler instructed me with a soft tap to the back of my head. Once again, I felt pain lance through my neck as I followed his directions.

   With great care, Tyler brushed away what little hair I had on the back of my neck, his fingers skimming what should have been my skin. The sensation of his skin touching mine never occurred though. Instead, I got the distinct impression that there was something blocking the contact between his fingers and my neck.

   On instinct, I reached back to figure out what was there and found a rough, grid lined material covering the skin. It took me a second to realize that it was a bandage. A thrill of shock raced through me as I recognized the feeling of blood coating my fingers.

   Immediately, I tried to pull my hand back down in front of my face to look at it, but Tyler caught my wrist before my hand even made it into my field of vision.

   “I know that you recognize what that is. I don’t recommend that you look at it. You know what’ll happen.” The alpha urged me in a low, protective voice.

   I paused before nodding. He was right. If I looked at the blood that I could feel smeared on my fingers, there was a chance that I could end up going back into another panic attack.

   For whatever reason, other people’s blood didn’t bother me but mine did. I assume it’s because I don’t like the idea of being injured- like most sane people. Ever since I was hit by a truck a few years ago and almost died from internal bleeding, any sort of injury tended to give me immense anxiety. Since that incident, there had been several occasions where even the least worrisome injuries, like a bloody nose, would send me into a slight panic. So, Tyler was right in being concerned.

   “You’re probably right.” I admitted reluctantly.

   “Can you stand?” Tyler asked, placing a gentle hand on my back and making a move to stand up.

   I sucked in a breath and tried to get up but almost fell as soon as I leaned too far forward. Tyler caught me with a deft arm and stopped me just before I hit the ground.

   “Come on. Use me as support.” Tyler muttered with a grunt of effort as he wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me up.

   “Well, I don't want to _use_ you per say.” I mumbled in an attempt to lighten the situation.

   Pain once again speared through my side and a grimace graced my face as I stood. For a moment, a subdued groan pushed its way up from my chest as I struggled to get my feet under me.

   “Are you okay?” Tyler scooted closer to me so I could rest more of my weight on him.

   “I just want to lay down and take another nap.” I hissed through gritted teeth. Tyler shook his head.

   “It'll hurt even more if you do that now and then try to get up later. Plus, I need to change your bandages before your wounds get infected.”

   “Do we have to?” I groaned just before my knees buckled and I almost collapsed again. Tyler caught me and hoisted me up so I could throw an arm around his shoulders.

   “Yes. Then, you can take another nap.” He muttered before reaching back behind us and grabbing something. Turning back to me, he handed me my glasses. I put them on clumsily with one hand.

   “Good.” I mumbled wearily, consciously trying to place my feet under me as Tyler led us out of the room. The alpha paused briefly in the hallway to see if anyone was around before continuing to the bathroom.

   As we reached the spacious, gray and white tiled washroom, Tyler brought me in and shut the door behind us. With careful motions, he shifted me sideways so that I was closest to the toilet and gradually let me go so that I could sit down on the lid of it. The alpha made sure that I was situated before turning to one of the cabinets. From it, he retrieved a giant first aid box with a red plus sign that spanned the width of his chest.

   I watched him do this with trepidation while at the same time fighting the urge to look at my hand. Tyler seemed to notice this as he looked over at me and shook his head.

   “Don’t do it.” He instructed dutifully, pulling out some bandages and turning to approach me.

   Placing the materials on the counter, Tyler grabbed a washcloth and doused it in warm water from the faucet before kneeling down in front of me. I leaned sideways against the counter while he took the hand which I assumed was still covered in blood and gently washed away the smeared substance from off my fingers with small, soothing motions.

   I caught a glimpse of the blood on my hand after a moment and it was only then that I looked away to focus on Tyler’s fluffy hair. Personally, I rather liked the way his hair looked at that moment. There were tufts of it sticking up everywhere, but it still looked soft enough to run my hands through.

   Somehow, Tyler’s hair reminded me of Tyler himself. Rough in appearance but gentle in action. Tyler was generally pretty gruff, and he had his days where he was distant. Whenever we were alone though, Tyler was always like the man I saw stooping over my hand- gentle and kind.

   After the blood seemed to have been completely washed off, Tyler stood again and handed me a dry towel to dry my hand while he got out the bandages.

   For a moment, my thoughts wandered back to my dream. The visions had been so detailed, so personal and I could still hear the voice of the person in my dream moaning in pain. Whoever it was had been wounded and the smell of death permeated my nose every time I thought of the person on the metal table. The person that I had been in my dream.

   I had heard that person’s thoughts as if they were my own. I had felt their pain as if it was my own. I had agonized over their grief as if I had lost someone like they had. But who had they lost, who were “ _they_ ”, and why did I have such horrible visions every time I closed my eyes?

   A dull throbbing of my temples caused me to shake my head and bury my face in my hands.

   “You okay Mini?” Tyler asked from somewhere above me. I briefly opened my eyes to look down at his bare feet just below me.

   “My head hurts.” I grumbled woefully.

   One of Tyler’s hands spanned the back of my head as he pressed it down gently. I allowed my chin to sink towards my chest and glared at the tile under our feet. On the back of my neck, I could feel Tyler’s fingers pull up the edges of the bandage before he let out a sympathetic huff.

   “I would be surprised if it wasn’t hurting considering how much blood you’ve lost.”

   I frowned and let out a low hiss as Tyler pulled the bandage from my neck, small hairs coming up with it along with the filleted skin of the wound underneath. A dull stinging sensation started up as soon as the material left my neck, causing me to wince.

   “Why am I bleeding so much?” I growled, anxiety building in my throat as I caught a glimpse of the blood-soaked bandage dropping into the trash next to me.

   “Craig… do you remember last night?” Tyler asked as he threw away the old bandage.

   While I tried to remember what had happened through the thudding of my heartbeat against my skull, Tyler unwrapped a new bandage and began pressing it onto my neck. I groaned and shivered a little as Tyler pressed on an especially sensitive spot.

   “Done with this one. Lift up your arms but don't look down.” The alpha ordered with a gentle tone. I obeyed his command, groaning as the skin on my left side stretched and cracked open.

   “I remember part of what happened.” I conceded after a moment, my voice muffled half way through my sentence when Tyler pulled my shirt up over my head. “I know that these wounds are from the fight.”

   Tyler frowned as he crouched down to look at my side with a hint of confusion.

   “Do you remember why you can't heal yourself?” The alpha inquired quietly.

   At this, I felt my face slacken a little. Not being able to heal myself had been part of the dream. It wasn't real. Or maybe that was one of the only parts of my dream that had been real. Maybe that was why it showed up in my dream. It could have been part of my reality which sank into my subconscious.

   Briefly, I remembered the metal restraints around my healing abilities in my dreams as well. Was that real too? If so, why were they there and who had put them on me? Surely, it wasn't my leopard. His survival depended on mine. He needed me.

   “I can’t heal myself…” I mused, my previous anxiety increasing as I glimpsed the blood-stained bandage along the entire length of my left side.

   The previously white cloth-like material had been soaked through and through with blood. It was as if someone had decided to paint my side red and I couldn’t help but stare down at the offending ruby red cloth. Tyler reached up and covered my eyes immediately before I could see any more.

   “You told me last night that you couldn't heal yourself beyond stopping the bleeding. That's why I helped you put on all of these bandages.” The alpha told me. “I didn't think you'd bleed through them. If anything, I thought it was a temporary block and that you’d be completely healed when you woke up.”

   After a moment, I could hear Tyler shake his head and I could imagine his frown deepening. From him, I could sense a mental struggle as he tried to rein in the fear which I could smell wafting up from him in small doses.

   “Obviously, that didn’t happen. I think that the bleeding has at least decreased from last night, but I'm guessing that you'll have to see Brock soon or else…” Tyler paused for a moment and I could feel his heartbeat stall in his fingertips.

   Somewhere in my mind, I understood what he meant. I shouldn’t have been bleeding so much and I could feel my body growing weaker the longer I stayed awake. By instinct, I knew this was the effect of blood loss. If this continued… no. I couldn’t think about that.

   “We’ll deal with that if it gets to that point.” I reassured the tiger, placing a hand over his and willing myself to calm down once again.

   “If…” Tyler repeated the word, releasing several meditating breaths.

   After a moment, Tyler took his hand back and placed a finger under my chin to keep my head up. I sighed and reluctantly trained my gaze straight ahead to focus on the bathtub behind the alpha. I had to figure what was wrong with me.

   As Tyler peeled the bandage on my side away from my skin, I took a deep breath and tried my best to ignore the pain. Once I was calm enough, I closed my eyes and reached deep within myself. Almost immediately, I was transported to my subconscious.

   With a hollow thud that echoed through my mind and pressed against my forehead, I stumbled into the giant room of my mind and fell to the ground shoulder first. I yelped internally as my left side exploded with pain.

   Briefly, I caught sight of a few controls which flashed with various warning signs off in the far corner of my mind where my Data Panel stood.

   For a moment, I laid on the ground, winded and in too much pain to do anything but lay there. In fact, my mental body seemed to ache even more than my physical one- if that was even possible. In a way, this made sense since, the moment I entered my subconscious, the sounds of the howling victims from the lab increased tenfold.

   As I opened my eyes to look around my subconscious, I realized that my vision was extremely foggy. I originally accredited this to the pain still reeling through me.

   After a few moments, my breath came back to me and I was able to sit up with difficulty. My legs tingled the further I sat up and I still couldn't see straight, but I found gratitude in knowing that I could at least move. Last night, I had been paralyzed mentally so that I wasn’t able to move at all so being able to move again was a relief.

   I had been paralyzed… I had been paralyzed mentally.

 _Do you remember last night_? Tyler’s words echoed through my head.

   I did remember last night. At least, I thought so. There was something about a fight. The fight had completely incapacitated me until I was too weak to fight back. Who had I been fighting though?

   Suddenly, I felt an oppressive force press down on my mind. With a low growl, I curled in on myself as my body heated up and I could feel an incessant pounding hammering into the sides of my head. The sensation reminded me of something. Something that happened last night…

   As if I had discovered the key to Pandora’s box, everything from the past few days in regards to the rogue fox on our territory rushed back to me with a seething vengeance. Between the sledge hammer force mashing my brain into a puddle and the pain in my sides, I remembered the most basic things that had happened to me last night.

   Starting a few days ago, several of us had encountered the smell of death and sickness in several places around the territory. Evan, being a person of caution and no risks, had made sure to send people out to investigate where the smell came from.

   Yesterday and the day before, Evan insisted that we keep up a rigorous patrol schedule to enhance security, even though we had some of the greatest and most efficient spells already protecting our territory.

   None of us had gotten much sleep in the days leading up to last night. Between the patrols and constant dread of what would happen when we found the person creating the scent, no one was able to get any rest whatsoever.

   In theory, by the time we ate, took showers, gave our reports, and went to bed, we were supposed to be left with about an hour or so of sleep between patrols. Each patrol took about an hour to complete after that though which meant that most of us were lucky if we got an hour of sleep.

   At first, this wasn't a problem but, as the day progressed, everybody got more and more tired. Shifting back and forth between our animal and human forms had been much more taxing than most of us anticipated. In fact, by the end of the day, most everyone had exclusively decided to stay in their human form or their animal form.

   Personally, I wanted to stay in my animal form more but, each time I stayed in it for more than an hour, my leopard’s constant anxiety would inevitably begin to consume me. Therefore, I had no choice but to continuously switch which caused immense strain on all of my muscles. Tyler had been under similar stress for the same reasons.

   When the day started, Kryoz and Smii7y messaged us telling us that they would keep a lookout on their side of the territory for part of the day. However, they had to leave for a mission later on and they wouldn't be back for a whole month. Therefore, we lost even more chances to rest after they left around noon.

   Panda had returned at four in the morning yesterday. Marcel and Scotty returned late in the afternoon which made everybody just a little more irritable since they had to cover more shifts while the two were gone. So far, I hadn’t been home long enough to ask them what happened or where they had been. As the day wore on though, I had been glad for the constant distraction since it meant that I wouldn’t have to yell at them.

   Evan had already been giving them his usual silent treatment yesterday which was punishment enough considering that one of the shifts had been covered by the alpha and the trio. Luckily, Panda was the one who went with Evan and, so far as I knew, Evan wasn’t nearly as angry at the mountain lion as he was with the other two.

   Everyone seemed to be sharing the same feeling of dread that Lui had described a few days ago which also served to increase everyone’s irritability. Some way or another, we all knew the situation wasn’t going to end well and the anticipation for what would happen only made us more stressed as we continued our patrols.

   When Tyler and I had found the fox last night, I thought I would have died for sure. I remember the smell most of all and, considering how many wounds I had seen on the fox after the fight, I was no longer surprised by the sickening aroma.

   The pressure had been the most prevalent part though and I remembered with stunning clarity the agony that had been wrought on my mind. Just before I was physically attacked by the fox, my mind had been under siege and there were several moments where I remember not being able to move at all, both physically and mentally. Whoever had gotten into my mind to deal such damage had come in a wreath of smoke and had tried to kill me from the inside.

   I wasn’t sure how I fought my mental attacker off or who it was, especially considering the fox attacked my physical body soon after. The only explanation for my survival would have been that my leopard protected me. However, as I looked around my subconscious, I couldn’t see so much as a whisker of the animal.

   Cautious and still weary of the white noise created by the screams from my visions, I got up on unsteady feet and walked over to the Data Panel lit up on one side of my mind.

   There were several blinking red lights on the panel. None of them were serious warnings. In fact, most of them simply told me that I had wounds, which was already obvious to me. Several shocks of pain made the blinking lights shine just a little brighter as Tyler pressed something against my physical body.

   For a moment, I considered returning but Tyler didn't seem worried about me spacing out. Plus, I came to my subconscious for a reason.

   Turning from the panel, I looked around in search of what I had come here for. Almost immediately, I spotted a wooden box off to the side of my mind between my Memory Cabinets and the Data Panel.

   This wooden box was the harborer of all of my powers which were granted to me as a beta. All of my abilities to heal, to enter people's minds, and every instinct I had that told me to take care of the pack was harbored within the box. I liked to call it my beta’s box.

   The container itself was enhanced by my bond with Evan and maintained by my leopard. Normally, the box was left open so that I could access it at any time. However, as I looked over at it through the haze around my vision, I realized that it was closed and, around the length of the box sat a heavy looking metal chain.

   Frowning, I approached the box, casting several glances around to see if I could find my leopard. Again, I didn’t see him, but I continued nonetheless.

   As I reached the squat container, I felt a familiar wave of vertigo splice through me and I stumbled over my own feet, my vision growing even more hazy. I had to unlock the box though. It was the only thing that could help me stop the bleeding.

   Without thinking about why I couldn't reach it or what was making me dizzy, I reached out towards the box even as nausea curled in my stomach and I grew ever more disoriented.

   Before my finger could so much as touch the box, I felt something grab onto the collar of my shirt and drag me backwards. I was too weak to fight back as the entity pulled me away from my box.

   Even as we distanced ourselves, I could feel myself growing faint. My vision lulled and I could feel my body going limp. Before I could pass out though, whoever had taken a hold of my shirt suddenly dropped me. The back of my head bounced harshly off the concrete floor of my subconscious with an audible thud.

   “Son of a!” I shouted, wrapping my hands around the back of my head and curling in on myself with a hiss. Behind me, a similar groan of pain resounded through my mind.

   For a moment, my head continued throbbing and my vision swam in hundreds of directions. My first instinct was to shake my head to get rid of the sensation but that just made it worse, so I waited for it to dull on its own.

   Once I could see somewhat clearer, I turned and squinted angrily at the person behind me.

   “Who-?” I started to ask but cut myself off when I recognized the dappled golden fur of my leopard.

   The animal was slouched over, out of breath, with his eyes blown wide. He breathed in a deep stuttering manner, his body heaving to get oxygen into his narrow chest. The animal seemed so distraught and in so much pain that I could do nothing but stare at him in wonder as he tried to catch his breath.

   More than that though, I realized that my vision of him was blurred. With a somewhat subdued groan of pain, I sat up and rubbed at my eyes but, even though the earlier fog around my vision had disappeared, the leopard remained as a big golden blob in front of me.

   “ _Gatroin_. What happened to you?” I questioned, crawling over to the animal since I was too weak to stand.

   For a moment the demon didn't respond. In fact, as I reached him and looked up into his face, it was as if he didn’t see me at all. From this distance, I could hear just how hard he was breathing, and I could feel his fear coming off of him in waves. Never before had I seen my leopard filled with such terror and agony.

   Gradually though, I realized that some of my pain was being drained away from me. Belatedly, I recognized that my leopard was taking in all of the pain that I felt. By doing so, I would be able to function properly without being burdened.

   However, the effect of this action seemed to blur my vision of my leopard exponentially and, for a moment, his image became an almost transparent version of him.

   Before I could even think to tell him to stop, the leopard’s head lifted and he fixed his gaze on me. As our eyes met, I felt a deep thrum vibrate through the very core of my being. My vision wavered for a brief moment and, with it, the image of my leopard.

   For a moment, I saw three different versions of him, each of them with varying expressions of pain. The images lasted a second before a wind swept through my mind and my core vibrated more intensely as if I were laying on a giant subwoofer turned up to full volume. Then, all of the sensations which I experienced subconsciously came to a stop and, when I was once more conscious of what I saw, I saw my leopard again, his image now a fixed appearance without its blurred edges.

   There was a moment where we sat, staring at each other and I understood part of what he had just done.

   The demon half of the mind is the protector, the thing that stands between death and the physical body and maintains the health of the person as a whole. My demon half was the very thing that kept me alive by fighting off infections, keeping dangerous thoughts away from polluting my mind, and keeping our physical body breathing.

   I knew by instinct that he would kill anyone for my sake. If it came down to my life or someone else’s, he would gladly kill the other person. That was his instinct.

   That's why I was here to temper his instinct. I was the rational side, the one with morals and ethics and belief systems that kept us in the right. If I weren't in control, we would be nothing but pure animal instinct. Survival of the fittest style.

   As my leopard stood to shake his head and his body as well, I understood that he had taken all of my pain from me and transferred it to himself. By doing so, we both knew that I’d be able to function better and actually think about what had happened last night. In the meantime, he was the one left weak and barely able to stand.

   I watched my leopard with concern as he stumbled a little and stepped closer to me.

   “Forgive me.” The leopard groaned as he straightened and met my eyes once more.

   I shook my head, my hands hovering over either side of his body just in case he fell over. “There’s nothing to forgive you for. You haven't done anything wrong. If anything, you just helped me immensely.”

   The animal glanced between me and a spot behind me with uncertainty. “No. I should have warned you about the box.”

   “What do you mean?” I asked him, tilting my head.

   The leopard stood and walked around to a spot behind me. I turned and watched him walk over to the box with caution.

   A frown marred my face as I looked over at the container and realized that it was shrouded in smoke which was colored a deep hue of purple. The taunting light of the chain around it glinted through the smog at me in a jeering display of the power it had over me.

   “What happened to it?” I asked wearily. The leopard shrugged and sat down at a safe distance from the box.

   “I'm not sure. It’s been locked up and shrouded in that purple smoke since last night. I believe it's some sort of reversal spell but I'm not sure of its purpose. Whatever it is, it has part of me locked in there. I'm not at full capacity as of right now and taking your pain has weakened me even more.” The leopard bowed his head and shook it, one of his paws coming up to rub at his temple.

   “Every time I try to think about what happened to it, I reach this blockage and my train of thought just sort of halts. Therefore, I can only assume that it came from whoever attacked our mind last night and that it was meant to incapacitate us. I can’t think of anything beyond that though.” The leopard continued miserably.

   “Last night…” I murmured to myself.

   Like a baseball bat striking the back of my head, I remembered the last part of the events that had occurred late last night.

   There was the smell of death, like the scent I’d smelt in the lab, and the sight of a sopping wet pile of bloody fur in the middle of a moonlit clearing. I remembered something crashing down on my mind and the sickening feeling of all of my defenses being ripped apart. I was helpless, reduced to nothing, as if my entire body had been strapped to a bed and left to rot while my attacker hacked away at my conscious.

   Just like the leopard had described, I couldn’t think of who had attacked my mind. The only thing I could see was a person shrouded in the same purple smoke that encased my beta’s box. Whoever had attacked me, I knew that they were efficient, clean cut, and ruthless which meant that I was incapacitated quicker than I would have ever thought imaginable.

   Therefore, I shouldn't have been surprised last night when my physical body was attacked after I could no longer control my body. I could remember feeling my head being slammed into the ground and a powerful jaw snapping shut around the back of my neck and locking in place. The fangs had dug into the flesh therein with a ferocity that I had never witnessed in all of the years that I had lived.

   I remember being so stunned, both physically and mentally, that I couldn’t do anything to stop the long claws from filleting my left side. With intense clarity, I remembered screaming in pain as the claws scrapped across my ribs and skimmed over some of my most important organs.

   The whole situation had been horrifying and I had been useless in helping the others fend off the fox as it attacked the rest of the patrol. I couldn’t think of who assaulted my mind but I felt like I should know, like I should have been able to infer who it had been. No matter how hard I tried though, I couldn’t.

   “Mini!” A voice shouted faintly from somewhere in my mind.

   I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut as the pain in my head once again decreased a little before almost disappearing altogether. It was immediately replaced by a blazing warmth that was pressed into my mind with gradually increasing resilience.

   Lifting my head, I gave my leopard a questioning look. He returned it with a shake of his head.

   “That’s not me.” He mewed.

   With a low growl, I looked around to find the source of the heat and the voice as well. It had sounded familiar enough but, through the screams still rumbling under my thoughts, I didn't hear it well enough to know for sure.

   “Who is that?” I muttered, turning back to my leopard.

   The fear of another attack on my mind came into my head briefly and I felt my leopard’s attention perk up at this. Lifting his head to look at a spot beyond me, my leopard grew silent as he concentrated on finding the source.

   After a moment of near quiet, save the still echoing effects of my dream, I heard my name being called again but in a more urgent voice. It sounded as if whoever was calling to me stood on the other side of a vast mountain, their voice carried on the wind over the peak of the summit and down to my ears.

   There was another moment of silence following that and I looked at my leopard in confusion while he glanced around, his ears flickering back and forth. Then, the voice called to me again… and again… and again.

   Gradually, the voice grew louder in its callings as if the person were climbing the metaphorical mountain to get to me and the heat that I had felt earlier began to increase. Next to me, the leopard sniffed the air, his pink nose twitching. I watched him, vaguely curious but more anxious as he sneezed and looked back down at me, his slit pupils fluctuating in size.

   “I think it’s Evan.” The leopard mused soberly.

   I shook my head and furrowed my eyebrows at him. “What do you mean?”

   “I think he wants to talk.” The animal responded in an uncertain voice. Before I could ask him any other questions, my leopard disappeared in a wreath of smoke.

   Around me, everything went dark and I could feel a sudden wind rise from seemingly nowhere to sweep through my conscious. The next thing I knew, I was standing at the threshold of my conscience, looking into my subconscious mind from a distance.

   As I looked in though, I realized that my subconscious no longer appeared as the dimly lit room which I normally visited. Instead, I flinched as a lush green forest appeared before me. Above me, I could hear the chirping of songbirds in the treetops and a glorious afternoon sun peered out from behind the dark green leaves of the trees above me. Even under the thick branches and leaves, I could feel the immense heat that the giant ball of energy gave off. Under my paws, I could feel soft green grass shifting past my fur in ways that instinctively cheered me up and distracted me for a moment.

   “Mini?” A voice murmured from somewhere behind me.

vTurning, I looked over my shoulder to see a golden leopard who was extremely different from my leopard, his fur dappled by the scenery that lived and breathed around us. The black streaks on his face and across his spine glistened in the sunlight, the luster of which did not compare to the glowing orange emblem on his shoulder. Even from this distance, I could almost see every single strand of fur that made up the tattoo’s design.

   I stood to greet the other leopard as Evan came to a stop a few feet away. Briefly, I glanced back to my mind and shivered. The warmth was still ever present around me, but Evan’s voice seemed to have dulled the effect of all the sounds that had been present a moment ago. Suddenly, everything around me seemed muffled, as though the songbirds and the groans of the trees as the wind swept through them had been covered by some enormous blanket.

   “Evan?” I questioned uneasily, turning back to the leopard across from me.

   As I observed him, I realized that it was indeed Evan that I was looking at. The tall leopard watched me through weary eyes, his fur shining brightly under the sun. I couldn’t smell him because, as I had already figured, we were still in my mind, but I could see the fear and concern in his eyes without having to scent the air.

   “Mini. What’s going on?” The alpha asked, stepping forward on deft paws with his head lowered.

   I frowned and narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you talking about?”

   Evan straightened a little, his eyes wavering ever so slightly. “There were alarms in my head. They warned me that something was wrong with you, so I came to see what was happening.”

   The frown which had already tilted my lips down deepened as I gazed at the alpha.

   For a split second, I considered the idea that Evan was in my head. Of course, I knew that Evan was connected to me and the others telepathically. An inherent part of an alpha’s job is to help defend their pack from mental attacks as well physical which meant that we all had near constant contact with each other and, of course, Evan himself through our pack bonds.

   As a beta, and therefore the healer of the pack, both Moo and I could, in theory, wedge ourselves into the minds of our pack members. By doing so, we could see what they thought and help them fix their mental and emotional states if need be. In theory, we were supposed to be immune to any defenses that pack members had against mental attacks and could heal mental trauma from within.

   However, this was something that both Moo and I had a sliver of knowledge about and the ability to use such powers was supposed to have come with practice. Never before had I ever entered anyone’s mind though, whether they were my pack members or not.

   Personally, I had never dealt with another telepath either. Therefore, I lacked the experience to use these abilities. I didn’t even know how to defend myself let alone how to break someone else’s defenses. It didn’t matter if they were one of the pack members or not.

   Moo had told me many stories of telepaths and betas that he had encountered, especially in the labs, who tried to topple him from within. These encounters made him stronger in his mental defenses and much more knowledgeable on the topic compared to me.

   Back when the pack was brand new and Moo was trying to get to know me as a fellow beta, he had entered my mind once. While he was in my head, he had unintentionally brushed through a part of my past which I had tried to keep hidden. Of course, he apologized but, after that, he tried teaching me some basic defenses. Even though we spent a lot of time training, I was still never able to produce anything but a small barrier between me and my attacker.

   I had never needed to use mental defenses since then though and, over time, I suppose I lost most of my training on creating barriers. It wasn’t something that Moo and I had visited in the past few years and, at that moment, I suddenly regretted not practicing more. After all, not having any experience was part of the reason why he was able to get in so easily last night… He?

   “I’m not in your head Mini if that’s what you’re thinking. You may be, but I’m not.” Evan reassured me after a moment of hesitation, effectively cutting off my train of thought. I briefly glared at him for a moment, both for the comment and for interrupting my thoughts.

   Just a second ago, I had almost remembered what happened last night. Now that I consciously tried to grasp the memories though, they disappeared from my paws before I could reach them. No matter what, I couldn’t see who had attacked me. If anything, it seemed as though I were looking through a pinhole covered by a thin black cloth at my attacker. The only thing that I could see was purple smoke, like the stuff that covered my beta’s box.

   Growling, I continued glaring at Evan for a moment before laying down and burying my head under my paws.

   “You know I have no defenses against mental attacks so, either way, I could never know for sure if you’re telling the truth.” I muttered irritably.

   “Why would I lie?” Evan muttered in a wounded tone.

   I shook my head and glanced up at him with a look of apology. “After last night, nothing would surprise me.”

   For a few moments, Evan continued watching me with an uncertain expression. Within his eyes, I caught a glimpse of some deeper thought plaguing his mind as he considered my words.

   “Fine.” The alpha growled before dropping his gaze down to his feet.

   Briefly, he searched for something that I could not see on the ground, his head swiveling from side to side. After a moment, he squinted hard at something on the ground and lifted a paw to point at it.

   “There.”

   I leaned forward to look at whatever he was pointing at but saw nothing except the soft grass under our feet. “There’s nothing there.”

   Evan frowned, his head lowering even further until his nose was almost touching the ground.

   “Yeah, it’s hard to see.” The alpha admitted reluctantly as he straightened.

   “Anyway, this here is the line between you and me. On this side,” Evan made a motion with his tail to his half of the forest, “this is my mind. What I see in here is completely different from whatever you’re seeing. This side is mine. That side over there, is your mind. This line divides us, so we aren’t truly in one another’s heads. Just on the edges of them. This is my ability as an alpha, remember?”

   I nodded curtly. “I know it is. You’ve never talked to me like this before though.”

   Evan glanced around for a second before sitting down with a scowl. “Yes well, when I sensed that there was something wrong, I came to see what had happened.”

   I hummed considerably as I tried to figure out which part had attracted Evan’s attention. Had it been the things I had been remembering from last night, the fact that my box of healing and crafts was locked up, or was it…

   “As fellow betas connected by the same leader, would it be possible for me to see Brock's dreams?” I asked, lifting my head to look at Evan.

   The alpha straightened a little and took in a considerate breath, his expression perplexed.

   “Well yeah. Technically, you could visit anyone’s dreams as long as they're in the pack. By definition, it would be easier for you to see Brock’s dreams since you’re both betas, but you and I both know that he has strong defenses around his mind. I don't think he’d be careless enough to let even you get into his mind, especially when he's asleep. Why do you ask?” Evan responded.

   “Because I had a dream.” I responded, shivering as the images flashed in my mind once more. “Actually, it was more of a nightmare. I think that’s why you’re here…”

   Evan shook his head. “That doesn’t explain it. What I felt from my bond with you was something much more devastating than some dream. You’ve had nightmares before. I know you have because I’ve felt them, but they haven’t set these many alarms off in my head before.”

   I pursed my lips and squeezed my eyes shut for a moment as my vision grew hazy like they had been before I started talking to Evan. My pounding headache started up again as I remembered just a few of the horrible things I had witnessed in my nightmare.

   Behind my eyelids, I could see the metal table and the blood on the floor of my cage. There were broken ribs and legs, the bones of which poked at my skin roughly. The distant howls of people who were suffering terrible surgeries and experiments sizzled between my eardrums as well.

   “I was in a human lab…” I started, my vision blurring even more as I spoke. “I wasn’t just seeing the labs though. It was like _I_ was the person being ripped open and torn apart. I felt everything and thought everything as though I was the one experiencing it.”

   Briefly, I caught sight of a broken gray body below me which whined pitifully in pain. For some reason, I felt like I had seen the person before, but the image disappeared as quickly as it appeared before my eyes and, once again, I could no longer recall what I’d seen.

   “You’ve never been in a lab though.” Evan mused, his face contorting with even more concern.

   I nodded and buried my head further under my paws, sinking myself into the warmth of the sun on my back. It was the only thing that seemed to be helping my headache and, without it, I knew I would be consumed by the darkness of those distant nightmares.

   “You’re right. I’ve never been in a lab. Brock has told me a few things that happened within those walls but that shouldn't have been enough for me to see what he saw or experience it like I did.” I conceded with a groan.

   “So, you’re thinking that Brock had a nightmare and that he could’ve accidentally shared it with you.” Evan concluded.

   “No.” I shook my head in frustration as I tried to remember who I had been in my dream, my temples throbbing even as I rubbed at them with my paws. “That was a memory. That wasn’t something that I could’ve conjured up on my own and the only one who could’ve shared such vivid memories with me would be Brock.”

   Evan pursed his black feline lips before nodding. “Alright. I'll trust your judgement. I haven’t heard anything from Brock though. So far as I know, he’s been curled up next to Brian all night. His mind has mostly been nothing but warmth and silence. Honestly, I think it's a good change. His thoughts have been plagued by constant dread the past few days, just like everyone else. I don’t think he's the cause though. I would’ve felt it if he had a nightmare just like I did with you and I definitely would’ve sensed it if he crossed into your mind.”

   “You said it yourself though.” I argued, looking up at the other leopard imploringly. “Brock’s mind is heavily guarded. He could have, by some subconscious effort, hidden his nightmares from you and accidentally transferred them to me in the process or he could have bypassed you completely to enter my mind. Me and you both know that Brock is skilled with his mental capabilities. He doesn’t have to have a bond with someone to enter their minds.”

   “Think about what you’re saying for a moment Mini.” Evan admonished me with a solemn shake of his head. “Brock wouldn’t have willingly shared those memories or nightmares or whatever they are with you and the only way he could have bypassed me is by making a conscious effort to keep me from seeing what he was doing. It’s not something that is just ‘accidentally’ done. That sort of thing takes a lot more than casual talent.”

   “There’s no one else that could have shown me those memories so vividly though.” I argued, rising to face Evan.

   For a split second, the alpha’s image across from me seemed to consider this. Just as he went to answer me though, his image glitched so that, in one moment, his head was up, and the next, it was down, as if he had lagged in a video game.

   “Right. I’m certain that Brock's not responsible though. Like I said, he’s been peaceful all night.” The alpha restated in a firm tone. “Even if he did give you the memories, I don’t see a purpose in doing so and, despite what you seem to think, it’s not easy for him to enter someone’s mind without help. Brock’s greatest weapon is his defense while staying in his own mind which is a talent that has improved exponentially in the past few years. It had to be something or someone else.”

   I squinted at him, my eyebrows furrowing together. What Evan said made sense. There was no other explanation though. What I had seen had been someone’s memories that had been given to me. I knew that for a fact and the only person who could do something like that was Brock. So, why was Evan so certain that it wasn’t and why did I feel so assured that he was right?

   Shaking my head, I sat back down and frowned. “I saw someone Evan. I keep seeing them in my mind in the far reaches of my thoughts. Someone attacked me last night.”

   Evan made a slight scoffing sound, his eyes widening in a sort of sober sarcasm.

   “Obviously. Even from this distance between our minds, I can practically smell the blood coming from your physical body. You need to have Brock check out your wounds before you end up bleeding to death.” The alpha remarked.

   I snapped my jaws together in annoyance. “You aren’t listening to me Evan. I know what I saw. Someone attacked my mind last night.”

   At this, Evan paused, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. “What do you mean?”

   “The fuck do you think I mean Evan?” I snapped. “Someone came into my mind last night and attacked me. They paralyzed me so that I couldn’t fight back when that fox attacked me. I know what I saw Evan and I know what I felt.”

   Evan made a placating gesture with one of his golden paws.

   “I trust you Mini. I do believe that you were attacked. What I didn’t understand was how someone could have attacked your mind. I know that you have barely any defenses but, even with what little you have, nobody should be able to _paralyze_ you.”

   “Well, they did.” I muttered, my lips curling as I tried to see through my leopard’s eyes to see who had attacked me. Just as before though, I hit a brick wall in my thoughts and I wasn’t able to conjure up a concrete image of who had appeared in the purple smoke.

   After a moment of struggling, a thought occurred to me.

   “Is it possible for someone to fight an opponent mentally and physically at the same exact time?” I asked Evan, lifting my head to look up at him.

   He frowned and thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. Not unless they’re highly trained and, even then, I think it takes a ton of training and concentration. Even if it were possible, nobody would be able to do it for very long and they’d have to be in pristine condition.”

   “So, that rules out the fox himself.” I mused, making connections through the half-dazed state of my mind.

   Evan shifted uncomfortably. “Wait, you think the fox attacked you?”

   I frowned. “It’s a possibility.”

   For whatever reason, Evan seemed to shrink just a little at this suggestion. In fact, as I watched his image, I caught sight of another glitch in his figure and his thoughts became even more conflicted then before.

   “If he were that well trained, wouldn’t he have been able to attack Moo and the others as well though?” The alpha postulated.

   I shrugged. “I have no clue. We have no idea who he is, where he comes from, or why he came here. It could have been him. All that I know is that, whoever attacked me did it in just enough time for the fox to attack me as well. It could have been him.”

   For a moment, I tried to think about what the leopard and I had seen last night once more. I searched the brick wall that we ran into for any cracks but there were none. Not so much as a sliver of light shown through the wall. The only thing we could see was the purple smoke leaking over the top.

   “So far, you’ve been making assumptions, but do you have any concrete proof as to who this person was?” Evan questioned in agitation.

   I shook my head and buried my nose in the grass at my feet as I tried once more to get the stench of blood and death out of my nostrils. “Nothing. Nothing but purple smoke.”

   My head was literally buried in the ground, so I didn’t see it, but I would later recall a sudden increase of heat from the sun at my back. From it, I sensed an emotion bordering on unadulterated rage which made my head snap up.

   Immediately, I caught sight of Evan’s expression and, for a second, it seemed that I was staring straight into the pit of a volcano. Evan’s eyes glowed a deadly red color which contained all the heat of the lava within him. Just as soon as this rage appeared though, it was gone, as if the edges of the volcano’s opening had collapsed inward.

   Evan was beyond pissed.

   “I’ll take care of it.” The alpha growled lowly, his jaw setting to the side.

   Before I could ask what he meant, Evan jumped up and turned to look for something over his shoulder. For a moment, his ears perked up and he seemed to listen to something. From his mind, I sensed a stirring as Evan’s apparition shined a little brighter with its previously gold attire and he stood a little taller.

   “Nogla is trying to wake me up. I should go before he tries jumping on me… again.” Evan informed me with a pinched expression. “We'll talk about this more later.”

   I nodded, my frown deepening ever so slightly. “Yeah. We'll have to.”

   For a moment, Evan stood watching me. In his eyes, I could see a conflict rolling through his thoughts and an immense amount of sympathy for me. For a split second, I thought that he would stay or say something else. He didn't though.

   With a long sweep of his tail, Evan turned and disappeared into the mist surrounding his mind. With him, the warmth that I had grown accustomed to faded until it was once again a dim flicker of flame against my mind.

   It took me a second to put two and two together and to realize that the warmth that had been pressing on my mind for a while now had been Evan. With stunning clarity, I remembered the voice that had called my name in the middle of my dream and I realized that it was Evan who had been calling to me.

   As the alpha left, I glanced down to see that the purple smoke that had been surrounding my beta’s box sat circling my feet for a moment. Then, it seemed to fade as Evan left, as if it were being pulled away by his thoughts. Briefly, I considered the idea that whoever had blocked me from healing myself was somehow connected to Evan.

   It couldn’t have been though. Evan wouldn’t have knowingly let something like that happen. I hadn’t mentioned the situation with my healing abilities to Evan yet though, so I didn’t know if this was true or not. So far as I knew, Brock, Brian, and Tyler were the only ones who knew that I couldn’t heal myself.

   Desperately, I tried once again to remember who had attacked my mind last night and placed the reversal spell on me but, no matter how deep I dug, I couldn’t think of them. It couldn’t have been anyone Evan knew though. He wouldn’t have knowingly let that happen. Flicking this speculation away with disdain, I turned and walked back towards my mind.

   There was barely any mist for me to pass through before my mind's eye returned home. I figured this was because Evan had visited me, so he would have to travel farther to get back to his subconscious home.

   It felt disturbing to switch between being one person in my leopard form to an entity with two separate thoughts as my leopard escaped from me once more and we split into our own trains of thought.

   For me, I thought logically and morally. As for my leopard, he was nothing but pure instinct, driven on nothing but the drive to keep me alive by any means necessary. My leopard knew all of my fighting techniques and contained all of my abilities to heal. He had to be strong to have such a job and, for that, I respected him.

   This made the situation with my conscious being attacked even more unsettling because I knew that my leopard was fierce. Yet, even he seemed more distraught and unsteady than usual. The moment we separated, I once again became aware of this fact.

   As I approached my Data Panel, my leopard appeared from behind the Memory Cabinets off to the side with a mildly disturbed expression. He seemed better than he had been earlier and I couldn’t help but think that this had something to do with Evan being here. My leopard drew a lot of energy from him so, considering we had briefly been in direct contact with the alpha, I shouldn’t have been surprised that he seemed rejuvenated.

   “I don’t know what happened last night either Niamun. I told you that.” My leopard remarked before I could think to ask him the question that was hounding at my mind. “The only thing I know is that I sensed someone but, before I could think to protect us, they attacked. I don’t know who it was but it wasn’t Evan or anyone he personally knows. I know that for sure.”

   “I know it wasn’t Evan.” I growled vehemently. The leopard gave me a sympathetic look before sighing and sitting down at our Data Panel.

   I squinted at the leopard briefly, only mildly disturbed that he knew of the suspicions growing in the back of my head before I even had a chance to think about them in depth. Of course, the leopard paid no attention to my trepidation though as he checked on the outside world through the giant screen in the middle of the Data Panel.

   Through the screen, I could see Tyler who was diligently working on dressing my left side with another white bandage. For a moment, I stared at these images in confusion. It seemed like I had been talking to Evan for a while and yet, in the real world, only a minute had probably gone by.

   “I’m sorry Niamun.” My leopard apologized from somewhere behind me. I turned to see that he had his nose pressed into the ground and immediately recognized the motion as something that he did when he felt guilty.

   With quick steps, I approached him and crouched down to take his square face into my hands. His soft fur tickled the undersides of my hands as I ran them over his cheeks and gave him a halfhearted attempt of a glare.

   “I know we’ve had our differences lately and that there is bound to be more issues in the future. Right now though, I’m grateful to you. Your quick thinking saved us from certain death last night and, without you, I would for sure be dead on my feet just from the pain.” I assured him as I ran my thumbs over his cheeks. The leopard tilted his head curiously at my words.

   “We would be dead if you hadn’t tried your best to protect us and that is something that I value above the fact that I didn’t escape unscathed. At least we’re alive and that’s all that matters.” I murmured, leaning forward to press my forehead against the top of my leopard’s skull.

   “I’m glad.” He purred after a moment. I smiled soberly as his cheeks vibrated under my fingertips.

   We stayed like that for a while, basking in the fact that, for once, we were thinking along the same lines just like we used to. It was true that there was about a 95% chance that we would fall out of line again soon but, in that moment, we were together, and we had survived.

   My leopard was the first one to pull away with a small huff of amusement.

   “I miss the simpler days.” He murmured.

   I smiled and stood to turn back to the Data Panel. Just before I grabbed the controls again, I sighed. “I miss them too old friend. I miss them too.”

   Returning to reality, I sucked in a deep breath and shook my head. Tyler gave me a questioning look but remained otherwise focused on his task. As I glanced down at the new bandages that he was plastering against my side, my thoughts reverted back to the nightmare that I had had for a moment.

   What I had seen had been a memory, one that someone gave me. If it wasn't one from Moo though... No. Moo was the only explanation. Evan had said that we’d talk about it later but, somehow, I continued having a restless sort of notion that I had to figure it out sooner rather than later. Instinctively, I knew that the problem would bother me until I figured out what had happened.

   “Tyler?” I sniffled, turning my head to face the alpha. Reaching up, I itched my nose and sat back. The alpha in front of me glanced up to meet my eyes for a second before finishing his final touches on my bandages.

   Once the bandage had been fully secured, Tyler threw away all of the wrappers and began putting everything back in the first aid kit. He neatly stacked all of the materials back into the box before opening the cabinet where he had gotten it from and placing the container back in its designated spot.

   “Do you wanna talk about why you woke up like that?” The tiger asked with a gentle voice as he came back to sit down in front of me with his legs crossed and his face turned up to face me.

   I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, my mind still churning with the urge to find out what had happened. Only bits and pieces of my dream remained in my head and yet, every time I tried to access my memory of those images, I could feel something blocking me.

   “Technically, I had a nightmare.” I started slowly, twisting my hands together. “I don’t think it was a dream though. I’m pretty sure it was a memory of something horrible.”

   Tyler’s eyebrows furrowed together and he squinted hard at me for a moment. “Alright. Well, what was it about?”

   I shook my head and placed my forehead in my hands for a second, my headache gradually returning the more I thought about my dream. No matter how many times I tried though, I couldn’t access the images from my dream.

   It was almost like the situation with my beta’s box. I knew the answer was there somewhere, but it was like being in the middle of the mountains during a blizzard. I knew the gigantic land beasts were there, towering over me, but I could see nothing but white around me.

   “Mini?” Tyler called to me gently.

   I ran my hands roughly over my face before brushing my hair back and straightening to face the alpha. With a slight groan, I tried to focus on Tyler’s eyes and his eyes only. Luckily, he seemed to understand what I was doing for he reached forward and grabbed my hands. Gently, he rubbed circles into the backs of my hands with his thumbs.

   “It’s alright. You don’t have to revisit it right now.” Tyler reassured me.

   I shook my head stubbornly. “No. I need a second opinion.”

   Tyler raised his eyebrows and scooted closer to me. “Are you sure?”

   I nodded once again before focusing my attention on the sensation of Tyler’s hands around mine. “Yes. Like I said, I had a nightmare. It… it was about the human labs.”

   Almost instantly, I could see Tyler’s change in posture. His eyes flashed dangerously as the alpha in him rose protectively with the mention of the human labs.

   “You’ve never been in a lab.” Tyler assured me with conviction.

   I pursed my lips briefly before nodding. “I know. That’s the problem. I had a dream where I saw some of the things that they did in those places though.”

   For a moment, my thoughts hitched on the image of the gray, lifeless body on the metal table once more. I suddenly remembered who it was. It was the person whose experiences had been thrown upon me.

   “It wasn’t like I was just seeing them though.” I continued, my anxiety rising just a little and my gaze drifting to a spot on the ground. “I experienced _everything_ … as if I was experiencing my own memories. I experienced it all with every single one of my senses.”

   Even though I tried hard to redirect my attention away from the memories that I had received, I could feel the sensations from them still. The skin on my arms and my back seemed the most affected. They constantly felt as if they were being burned off. In fact, if Tyler rubbed my arms, I was sure that the skin would peel off. Briefly, an image of that actually happening flashed through my head and I winced.

   “Craig.” Tyler called to me, his hands coming up to rest on either side of my face. “Up here. Concentrate on me.”

   I lifted my gaze from the floor to look at him, despair and bile rising in my throat. “I had heard some stories from Brock, but I didn’t realize just how horrible those places are. The things I saw Tyler. The things I felt. They were so fucking painful and scary.”

   Without hesitation, Tyler stood and pulled my head forward to be buried in his stomach. I pressed my head against his torso and listened to the faint beating of his heart above me for a moment.

   I still didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand why this was happening to me or why I couldn’t seem to get ahold of any concrete information on my dreams or anything else. There was only one thing that I could do and that was to ask Brock himself if he had given me the memories.

   “Do you know if Brock is awake?” I asked Tyler after a moment. The alpha pulled away from me and furrowed his eyebrows together.

   “I’m not entirely sure. Why?” He answered.

   I shook my head. “He’s the only one who could’ve given me such vivid memories. I have to talk to him and see if he gave them to me or if...”

   Tyler hesitated before shaking his head. “Why would Brock let you experience something like that? I don’t know what you saw but, whatever it was, I can tell from your expression that is was terrible. Brock wouldn’t show you anything if he thought it would affect you like this.”

   “You sound like Evan.” I growled, rolling my eyes.

   Tyler squinted at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

   I frowned as I made a move to stand from the toilet that I’d been sitting on. My vision sparked and danced a little as I stood, and, for a moment, I regretted standing up. Pain spiked through my torso the further I straightened but I braved the sensation nonetheless.

   “Nothing. I’m going to go downstairs to see Evan.” I told the alpha.

   “You are not going anywhere.” Tyler insisted, placing a hand on my chest. “You need at least another hour of sleep.”

   I swayed on my feet for a second as he came closer and I became intoxicated by his scent. The wave of dizziness subsided when the pain in my side spiked again though which left me feeling drunk.

   “I’m fine.” I retorted, taking a step forward to get past Tyler.

   Almost as soon as I moved my foot off the floor, my knees buckled, and I almost fell for the third time that morning. Tyler, as usual, caught me easily and supported me so that I could stand again.

   Before I could thank him, Tyler shifted so that we were facing each other and reached down to wrap his arms around my thighs. I let out a surprised yelp as he lifted me up and waddled us back a little until the backs of my legs hit the counter and I was able to sit down on its surface. While I tried to keep myself from falling off, Tyler turned around and squatted down a little.

   I stared down at him for a good minute, trying to figure out what it was that he wanted me to do. After a moment, he reached behind him and made a gesture with his hands. Still, what he was suggesting didn’t click until he turned to look at me with raised eyebrows.

   “Get on. I’m taking you back to the room.” He commanded with another “come here” motion of his hands.

   I felt my jaw drop a little and, before I could stop myself, I was already shaking my head. “Hell no. I’ll end up crushing you.”

   Tyler chuckled a little. “Wouldn’t that be a way to go. ‘Death by piggy back ride’. Sounds like the title of a ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ episode.”

   “Yeah, and we’ll be featured on it if I get on.” I insisted. “No thank you.”

   I could practically hear Tyler roll his eyes as he made another gesture with his hands behind his back.

   “Whatever. You aren’t that heavy. Get on asshole.” The alpha muttered.

   “Your funeral.” I contended hesitantly.

   Carefully, I scooted off the counter only to stand over Tyler’s already crouched back. With deft movements, I leaned forward slowly to place my chest against Tyler’s back. A small huff of surprise escaped me as Tyler’s hands reached back to grab my thighs and he hoisted me up with a slight grunt of effort.

   I instinctively wrapped my arms loosely around the alpha’s neck the further he stood up and, despite his efforts, I could feel my butt sink just a little. Wincing, I felt the bandages on my side stretch and my wounds open just a little.

   Of course, Tyler was already ten steps ahead of me it seemed for he made a slight bouncing motion which allowed him to get a better grip on my legs. Then, with me safely secured on his back, Tyler walked over to the door whereupon I reached down, unlocked the door, and turned the door knob so that it opened ever so slightly. Tyler hooked his foot in the small gap and opened it the rest of the way with some difficulty before we made it through and into the hallway beyond.

   As soon as we were out in the corridor, I glimpsed Brian’s brown-haired head disappearing down the stairs from behind Tyler’s shoulder. Tyler didn’t seem to notice, and I didn’t think much of it, so we continued on our way back to my bedroom.

   Once inside, Tyler turned and gently deposited me onto my bed. As he went back to shut my door, I began to grow just a little dizzier, so I laid down on top of the decimated comforter from this morning.

   After a moment, I felt Tyler’s presence hover over me and I instinctively reached out for him as he crawled over top of me and curled up on the side of the bed closest to the wall. I tracked his movements and, as soon as he seemed settled down, I wrapped my arm around his waist and pulled him close to me.

   A low purr rumbled through the alpha’s chest as he pressed his forehead against mine. We laid there for a while afterwards and, soon, I fell back asleep.

   This time, my dreams weren’t marred by memories of something that I’ve never experienced. I didn’t see the motionless gray corpse laying on the table or the blood-filled cages.

   Instead, I sank into the warmth of Tyler’s body and the remembered warmth of the presence which had chased away the pain and visions mere minutes before. It was comforting, knowing that I was protected in more ways than one and that I had friends who were on my side. They had helped me last night and this morning. Surely, they would help me figure out who had been in my head… right?

   Somewhere around the hours end, I woke up again because, just like before, my thoughts were beginning to shift towards my dream and my beta’s box. I had to figure out who was responsible for all of this and, even though I could feel a decrease in the amount of blood I was losing from my wounds, I knew I should see Brock before they got worse.

   With a groan, I relieved myself of Tyler’s embrace and sat up on the edge of the bed. For a moment, I sat there, willing my strength to come back to me.

   “Do you want me to go with?” Tyler asked from somewhere behind me. Turning back, I looked into his glowing blue eyes from my position above him.

   After a moment of hesitation, I shook my head. Sure, I would have liked Tyler’s support, but I also knew that Brock would probably be downstairs with the fox already. Last night, Tyler hadn’t exactly agreed to keeping the fox. Even I had my doubts about keeping him, especially considering that he attacked my m-

   …Shit...

   Once again, my thoughts halted and I was left to wonder who had attacked my mind. Maybe the fox had. I didn’t think so though. It couldn’t have been him. He was too weak.

   Shaking myself, I stood and stretched a little.

   “I can handle it on my own.” I reassured the alpha sitting on my bed.

   He sat up to give me a skeptical look but didn’t say anything. Instead, he seemed to be observing me in depth and, for a moment, I felt like he could see my inner thoughts. For a moment, it seemed as though he understood everything that I was thinking and saw everything that I saw.

   That moment passed as Tyler got up and moved to stand in front of me. Gently, he grabbed one of my hands and held it in his, passing his thumb over the back of it.

   “Don’t push yourself Craig. I don’t want to see you get hurt like yesterday.” The alpha mumbled.

   I smiled a little for the first time that morning and let out a deep sigh. “I’ll try Tyler. You know I will. If not for my sake, then for yours.”

   “If not for your sake, then for mine.” Tyler murmured at the same time that I finished my last sentence. We both smiled at each other in awe because our thoughts were running along the same lines.

   Despite this, I looked up at Tyler with a heavy heart. Of course, he could feel what I felt. He knew how much my dream was tearing me apart and how doubtful I was of the situation of the fox. In return, I knew how much he hated the idea that the fox was here on a moral whim. We understood each other. For that, I was beyond grateful.

   After a moment, I pulled away from him and slowly made my way towards the door.

   “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with?” Tyler asked as he moved ahead of me to open the door.

   I shook my head and gave him a gentle smile. “I’ll be fine.”

   “Well, I’m going to take a shower and then I’ll be down in a few. Evan is most likely going to call the pack meeting here in the next hour or so. Of course, everyone will have to be down there for that, so I’ll probably be down before that for breakfast.” The alpha stated in confidence.

   “Alright. I’ll see you down there then.” I called over my shoulder as I exited the room.

   With that, I headed downstairs, unaware of the troubles that were soon to greet me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that is the chapter and, I know it wasn’t much in terms of plot, but everything that just happened will be important later on. Like I said in the beginning, this chapter was supposed to have a bunch of other stuff happen, but I felt like it was overcrowded with events, so I rewrote it and added about half of the original version to next chapter. For those of you wondering what Evan is doing or where his part of the story went, Chapter 13 will be his perspective, so you only have to wait a little longer.
> 
> Another thing with this chapter is that I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to pay more attention to the physical aspects of everyone in the crew in order to write them a bit better. Mostly, this has been through being attentive to what is posted on Instagram and Twitter. I will say that I absolutely adore the fluffy hair that Tyler has right now and the long hair that Evan’s been sporting, so that's something that I'm trying to add~
> 
> As an explanation for my tardiness, I got nothing done on my road trip (like I suspected). Also, these past few weeks, I was preparing for finals, finishing the semester, taking a trip to the AA Orchestra Festival, and preparing for a big change in my life which I might tell you guys about at a later date. For those of you who have also finished semester finals since I’ve been gone, congratulations~ You made it.
> 
> As far as my trip goes, Texas was a success and I loved everything about it. Well, everything besides the driving. It took a day and a half to Texas, a day and a half to Nevada, and another 17 hrs to get back home on New Year's Eve. Needless to say, it was an exhausting trip since this was my first time spending a full day on the road- plus some- but it was much needed and I got to see a lot of family.
> 
> Anyway, I’m sure most of you can infer some of what has happened to Mini and the reasoning for what has happened because of a bit of dramatic irony. Personally, I would love to hear any predictions that you guys have in terms of what will happen in the next few chapters, even if you are reading this after I’ve already posted the next chapters. Don't be afraid to be wrong in your predictions or opinions in general. Every comment is welcome here. Until next time~
> 
> Thank you guys for a thousand hits and, most importantly, thank you for reading! <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! I hope you're having a wonderful day as usual~
> 
> I thought for sure I’d be on time for this chapter. Unfortunately, I’ve been very busy this past week or two and the weekend before last was my birthday so I got basically nothing done ^^’ 
> 
> Also, the snow here has been getting incredibly ridiculous. There’s only been one day in the past two weeks that was above 0 degrees Fahrenheit and we have about two feet of snow in the spots that haven’t been plowed since the snow started falling. This past week, it hasn't been above -10 at any point in the day. At my grandma’s house, there are icicles that are quite literally the length and width of my arms. It’s actually impressive ^^
> 
> Another part of my delay has been because this chapter is very long. In fact, I think it's longer than my longest chapter which was Chapter 7. I also changed a few things in my style of writing which means editing took for frickin' ever. Hopefully, it turned out well though. Let me know if I could improve on anything when you finish~
> 
> Anyway, here is your chapter for this week and, hopefully, I’ll be on time in the next two weeks.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Moo’s perspective**

**_Earlier that same morning_ **

   "Brock?” A voice murmured from somewhere deep within my dreams. I shook my head at it and rolled over to ignore the presence.

   “Brock. Wake up. I need to talk to you.” The voice persisted. I groaned and covered my ears with the pillow that my head had been laying on.

   After a few moments of silence, I was convinced that I had rid myself of the person and their efforts to wake me up. Just as the thought crossed my mind however, I felt something pointy and hard dig right into the middle of my back.

   My first reaction was to reach back and smack the irritant. However, my hand was met with nothing but air when I did so.

   I huffed in frustration and tried to bury my head into my pillow again. Despite this, the person behind me continued poking me.

   “Brock. Don’t be like this. I gotta talk to you.” The voice insisted. I simply swatted at the person once more, my fingers brushing past soft fur.

   Instinctively, I reached out in front of me for the warmth that usually accompanied my side. In my half asleep state, I figured the warmth would help me get rid of whoever was trying to wake me up. My hands swept across the entire surface area of the spot next to me, yet I could not find my companion.

   Opening one of my eyes just a crack, I glared around blearily in search of Brian. Not so much as a single tuft of ginger brown hair could be spotted in the bed next to me. Even the blankets seemed to have been neatly folded up again in their rightful places.

   With a groan, I turned over to look at my attacker from a moment ago with a brief glare. I believe it suffices to say that I was surprised to see a pair of golden orange eyes staring back at me from over a set of black streaked cheeks.

   The leopard who sat at the edge of my bed flicked his ears at me with an impatient frown. His head and shoulders looked bigger than usual, more muscular. Even through the haziness of my eyes, I could have sworn that the large feline’s left shoulder glowed brighter than usual as I turned to face him fully.

   “Evan?” I muttered in question, rubbing my eyes in an effort to get rid of the film covering them.

   The alpha stayed quiet while I worked on sitting up, my legs still stretched out on the bed in front of me. Briefly, I glanced over to Brian’s side of the bed and frowned when reaffirming with both of my eyes that he wasn’t there.

   "Where’s Brian?” I inquired, turning my attention back towards Evan. The alpha turned his head to look at my door for a moment before turning back to me.

   “ _He’s downstairs already._ ” He informed me.

   Around us, the air seemed musty, as if it were covered in a thick gray dust. I squinted out the window above my nightstand only to gaze upon several rain clouds hovering over the horizon.

   A slight cough worked itself up into my chest as I twisted around and reached over Brian’s side of the bed, my eyes squeezing shut to avoid the gloomy morning light around me. Blindly, I searched for my phone with one hand.

   I found it after a moment, buried under the blankets, plugged into its usual green and blue charger. With some effort, I was able to unplug it without ripping the charger out of the wall and sat back up to look down at it. One deft finger and a heartbeat later, I turned the screen on and looked down at the time.

   The phone read 9:04am.

   I rubbed at my eyes with the back of my only free hand before throwing my phone back onto my bed behind me. By habit, I stretched and rolled my shoulders, a low groan erupting from my chest as I turned back to Evan and sat on the bed with my legs crossed.

   Subconsciously, I reached up to rub at a spot in my neck that seemed to be aching more than any of the other muscles in my body. The fatigue from the past few days was beginning to catch up to me. My entire body ached when I stretched. My neck and my back were the worst though. I was sure that I had also twisted my ankle at some point last night. A slight twinge came from the appendage as I crossed my legs.

   “What’s Brian doing up so early?” I yawned, a grogginess I associated with early mornings creating a haze over my mind. Evan sat by my bedside with a blank expression on his face as I squinted at him.

   “ _I woke him up a little bit ago to help Nogla._ ” The alpha replied after a moment.

   “What’d that oaf do this time?” I huffed inertly, my mind already conjuring up a memory from the last time Brian had to wake up early to help Nogla.

   A few weeks ago, Brian received a text message early in the morning from Nogla. Apparently, the demon needed help cleaning the kitchen floor because he spilt cereal everywhere.

   Of course, all of us had made messes before and it was always funny for a minute or two. For some reason though, it was more amusing to watch Nogla try and fit his gigantic wings between the counters to reach the floor. At some point, I remember him stretching his wings to their pinnacle point, away from the ground, to keep them from getting dirty while he cleaned his mess.

   I ended up giving in after my initial teasing and helped him clean the rest of his mess but, for a moment, I had relished in his suffering.

   Evan didn’t seem to be as amused, probably because he wasn’t thinking of the same incident. In fact, the alpha’s eyes conveyed a sense of worry more than anything. With this in mind, I forced my eyes open a little more and tried my hardest to drag myself out of my morning haze.

   As I became more aware of my surroundings, I caught the stench of angry alpha boiling beneath the surface of Evan’s chocolate coated scent. Instinctively, I shifted forward to swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Evan moved back a little to avoid getting hit. Otherwise though, he stayed in the same spot with a mildly irritated expression.

   “Evan. What’s wrong?” I asked, scooting to the very edge of my bed and leaning towards him.

   Even from this distance, I could feel a surge of heat rolling off of the leopard's golden fur. I got the sense that Evan was trying to conceal his anger, but he was failing epically.

   Normally, I would run my fingers through his fur and maybe invite him to transform back so he could relax more. Right now though, I knew he wouldn’t appreciate either of those ideas though. I had to deal with him carefully.

   “What’s going on Evan? Why are you so…” I started but trailed off as the leopard made direct eye contact with me.

   My heart stopped for a split second as I glimpsed the alpha within him swimming through his eyes. I immediately dropped my gaze to look at my feet. Instinctively, my body began producing calming pheromones which caused my vision to go blurry.

   I had barely even healed from last night’s ordeal. To force my body to create the pheromones was just another added stress that increased my fatigue, but it was necessary.

  Evan gave me an apologetic look before averting his eyes to the ground. I shifted uneasily at the hesitation I could see in his expression.

   “ _I suppose you want to know why I’m so angry."_  The alpha finished my sentence for me. I nodded. _"I'm not sure if I have a definite reason to be angry as of yet… but we’ll see._ ”

   As he spoke, Evan turned a calculating gaze over his shoulder. For a moment, he seemed to stare at a spot on my wall, the characteristic gold of the alpha in his eyes flexing ever so slightly. I tried to follow his gaze but found nothing of import.

   A low growl resounded through my chest as I shook my head.

   Evan had been acting strange for the past few days. Finding the fox last night hadn’t helped with that at all. It was for these reasons that the alpha’s mysterious words and actions didn’t have as much of an effect on me that morning.

   If anything, I almost got the sense that Evan was intentionally being as cryptic as possible. I could see many secrets lurking beneath his gaze. At this point, anything he said could end with him spilling such secrets, of which I knew there were many.

   The fact that he wouldn't fess up to his problems was the only thing that unsettled me. Since we met, Evan had always been open with me. He always told me how he was feeling and how he saw the world. Talking about our lives was what we originally bonded over all those years ago and it had been our shared philosophy on life that made us good friends.

   Nowadays though, I felt like he was keeping a lot of his secrets to himself and I could see the negative effects it was beginning to have on him. Originally, I thought him keeping secrets was just a phase. Now, I wasn't so sure.

 _It’s too early in the morning for this crap._ I thought to myself as I rotated my shoulders.

   My action was warranted with an increasing ache in my neck. I reached up to touch the bite marks on the right side of my neck, my fingers glancing over the scars that had already started to form there.

   For the most part, the wound on my neck seemed to have been healed. The skin there raised itself up to meet my fingers in rough, coagulated bumps.

   Subconsciously, I remembered that canine bites typically hurt for about two weeks after they're inflicted. This meant that the next few weeks would be miserable, especially after Mini and I started healing the fox. The fatigue was going to hit me hard.

   So far as I knew, Tyler and Mini had scratches and bite marks that I would have to check in on soon. They would be hurting the most these next few weeks. I couldn’t imagine what Brian would go through in the weeks following because of his chest though.

   As the thought crossed my mind, I sat up straighter and looked down at Evan.

   The alpha sat below me, his eyes narrowed towards the newly formed scars on my neck. His golden eyes flexed dangerously and, for a moment, I thought he’d give in to the anger I could still smell on him. Perhaps he’d even storm out of the house and go blow up some trees again.

   Luckily, he maintained control over himself even though a slight variation in his scent signified his struggle to do so.

   “Where did you say Brian was?” I asked.

   “ _Him and Nogla are downstairs washing off the fox and preparing him to be healed._ ” Evan responded with a flick of his ears.

   I frowned, my mind reaching a greater sense of clarity as I considered what little information I’d received in the past five minutes of speaking to Evan. Suddenly, it made sense that the alpha hadn’t found any amusement in mentioning Brian and Nogla like I had earlier. While I had been thinking of spilt cereal, he was probably thinking of the fox’s predicament and the direness of the situation.

   “I should probably go help them then. Why didn’t you wake me up when you came to get Brian?” I questioned the alpha as I reached back to retrieve my phone from where I’d thrown it.

   As soon as it was in my hand, I jumped up from my bed. Pain flared in my ankle as I stood and walked over to my dresser. 

   The large brown piece of furniture sat on the other side of the room with six drawers, three on either side. The left side held my shirts while the right held my pants. I reached into each of the drawers and pulled out a random t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants to put on.

   On top of the dresser sat a giant mirror and, through it, I could see Evan. The leopard still had his back turned to me, but I could see his brownish ears pointing towards me.

   “Don’t look.” I ordered the leopard as I began to strip clear of my clothes and slipped on the new clothing that I had taken out. Once I finished, I picked up my dirty clothes and tossed them into the hamper at the end of the dresser.

   “You can look now.” I told Evan as I turned towards the door.

   Surprisingly, the alpha didn’t move. From the corner of my eye, I caught a look of apprehension on an otherwise calm face.

   “Evan?” I called to the alpha.

   For a moment, he didn’t respond. Eventually though, he took in a deep breath and slowly turned to look at me for a second before averting his eyes once more.

   “ _I_ _have a favor to ask of you Brock… before you go help them._ ” Evan conceded after a moment, his head sinking towards the ground a little.

   “And what favor would this be?” I inquired uneasily, turning back to face the alpha.

   “ _I need you to watch my body_.” He replied, his eyes coming back up to meet mine. It was only then that I noticed that they had lost some of their goldish hue in favor of going back to the original amber color.

   I frowned. “What do you mean?”

   “ _I_ _mean, I need someone to stay with this physical body and to make sure that nothing happens to it and nobody wakes me up._ ” The alpha explained, his lips curling to show the tips of his fangs.

   “What are you going to do?” I questioned, anxiety fluttering in my chest. My chest felt unnaturally tight as Evan stood and shook his head.

   On silent feet, the alpha stalked over to me. His shoulders rippled with toned muscles and I was once again reminded of just how intimidating Evan could be without even trying. I tensed a little as his fur brushed my legs on his way out the door on the other side of me.

   Common sense told me to follow him, so I did, until we got to his room. At that point, we stopped so that I could open the door for him.

   I was so focused on the alpha in front of me that I didn’t notice the smell of blood coming from the bathroom down the hall.

   A part of me expected the stench of angry alpha to come exploding out of Evan’s room as soon as the door opened.

   Instead though, I was greeted with the sweet scent of vanilla, the alpha’s favorite smell. It was almost overpowering in its presence and I understood with intense clarity that Evan was using it in place of some sort of calming pheromone. At least, I knew that that was why it had been used to this extent in years prior whenever Evan was agitated.

   As the door swung open, Evan entered his room and jumped up onto his bed. He spent a few seconds kneading the blankets into a comfortable mound of fluff before finally settling down with a flick of his tail which gestured for me to follow.

   I obeyed, my curiosity and trepidation making me act more on instinct than anything else. Still, I had enough sense to know that Evan was planning something very important by bringing me to his room.

   Thus understanding that importance, I closed the door behind me before taking a seat in the rolling chair that had been at Evan’s desk. The alpha seemed to sense my anxiety as his golden orange eyes popped up to meet mine.

   “What is this about Evan?” I questioned once more as I rolled closer to the edge of his bed. Evan simply blinked before shaking his head.

   “ _I can’t explain now. There’s only a few minutes where I can speak to him and I must hurry. The only thing I need from you right now is to make sure that nobody interrupts me until I get back._ ” The alpha responded with a pleading look on his face.

   I made an exasperated gesture with my hands and rolled my eyes. “I don’t understand anything that you do these days. What’s another thing to add to the list?”

   “ _I don’t expect you to understand._ ” Evan confessed. “ _The only thing I expect from you right now is your trust that I’m doing the right thing. Will you help me?"_

   For a moment, I hesitated. The stubborn side of me wanted to argue with him and figure out what exactly he was planning. For the past few days, I had been left mystified by his actions and some of the things he said. Yet, he never explained himself in full. I wanted to find out why.

   At the same time though, I could see the urgency in his eyes and I suddenly recalled his words from the first time that I had met him seven years ago.

_I need your trust. Trust that I will be here for you and I will never let you down._

   Those words had stuck with me over the years in more ways than one. Ultimately, I knew that I trusted Evan. He always seemed to be doing the right thing these days. I didn’t expect that to stop any time soon.

   So, with a reluctant groan, I nodded.

   “I do trust you Evan and I’ll help you on one condition. You will explain yourself when you get back.” I asserted with an expression that I hoped conveyed just how serious I was.

   Evan’s face slackened a little with relief before it tightened again and I could see a sense of purpose replace his gratitude.

   “ _I won’t be long and I’ll explain everything once I figure out what is happening._ ” The alpha conferred.

   From his spot on the bed, Evan cast one more meaningful glance my way before curling in on himself and burying his face under his tail. Gradually, his breathing slowed and I could feel his conscience fade into the abyss between our minds.

   For a while, it seemed as though some essential part of the air around me had been taken away and I realized that Evan had cut himself off mentally from me and, most likely, everyone else in the pack. It wasn’t entirely obvious, so I suspected that no one else would notice. The disappearance of his presence from my mind felt palpable though.

   Anxiety plagued me as I watched over the alpha’s body.

   I knew that Evan had been stressed lately, but he had been ever more strange since the fox had shown up. Most prominently, my focus continuously turned back to the things that he had said last night after the fight. Everything that he had said about Fate, Destiny, and prophets not being true had been intriguing me since the words first came out of his mouth late last night.

   In regards to last night, I was also curious about the presence that I had felt pressing against my mind. The gratitude that came from it had been immense and, to some extent, I knew that Evan had felt it too. Perhaps that’s what Evan was trying to discover now- the source of the gratitude.

   Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had a sneaking suspicion that the presence pressing on my mind last night had been the fox himself. To create such a force, someone would have to be at full strength though. I knew that for a fact. Yet, some nagging part of me wanted to believe that the fox was much more involved with everything that was happening than we knew.

   For the most part, I slept well the night after we fought the fox and brought him home. It wasn't really a surprise considering how stressed we had all been in the days preceding last night. The strain of patrols and the emotional turmoil had definitely taken their toll on me. By the time I finally fell asleep, I entered a deep slumber which lasted up until Evan woke me that morning.

   On top of the fatigue from the past few days, it hadn’t been hard falling asleep after my werecat returned from his mysterious adventure last night. Upon returning to me, my werecat had promptly laid down in his usual spot and stayed quiet for most of the night. If anything, it seemed as though everything had gone back to normal once he settled down. The only difference was that he kept his eyes open and I remained aware of his presence even in the peaceful wakes of my dreams.

   I felt like he knew. My werecat definitely knew more than I did and, somehow, I got the sense that he was intentionally keeping it from me. That was another thing that bothered me as I watched over Evan’s body.

   For the first time in ten years, my werecat had gotten up and moved from his spot near my Data Panel. This event was disturbing in all the worst and best ways possible. Sure, the animal was normally awake during _Bavsha_ , but he never moved like he did last night. I didn’t know why he had woken up, but I knew that his presence simply contributed to the fact that this fox was important. He had to be.

   Perhaps that was just the softer side of me talking though. I knew part of what the fox had gone through and yet I could see the reasoning in not keeping him. For all we knew, he could have been an assassin in his life previous to the labs. Even if he woke up, he might not be as grateful to us as I had hoped either. We knew nothing about him and yet I had argued to keep him.

   The logical side of me knew that keeping the fox could be a stupid decision. I could have left the fox where he laid or let Tyler and Brian take him outside of the territory. For whatever reason though, the moral half of me wouldn’t allow it to happen.

   The “moral half” wouldn’t have allowed it… wait.

   “Stop messing with my thoughts. You have no right to interfere with them.” I growled out loud.

   The werecat in my head lifted his head to glare at me before rolling his eyes and standing. With a huff, he turned and curled back up on the ground with his back to me. From him, I sensed frustration. The feeling continued well into the hours following that but, at the time, all that I could think of was Tyler and Mini. They had to deal with stubborn counterparts messing with their thoughts all day long.

   I rubbed my hands over my face with harsh motions.

   Perhaps “ _I_ ” wasn’t the one who wanted to save the fox after all. Now that I had acknowledged his presence, I could feel my werecat’s emotions seeping in to saturate mine. He was the one that wanted to save the fox. The animal knew of the rogue’s importance to our future.

   Personally, I knew that it would be better to do as Tyler and Brian said and take him to someone else for them to fix. My werecat wasn’t so convinced though. For what reasons? I wasn’t sure.

   In front of me, I could see Evan shift, his lips curling back to reveal his elongated fangs. They stayed like that for a second before slowly coming back down. Under the leopard’s eyelids, I could see his gaze shifting and it almost seemed as if he were pacing back and forth in his mind. After a second, the motion ceased only to be replaced by another angry look.

   After a moment, Evan’s expressions seemed to deflate altogether and, suddenly, he no longer seemed angry at all. If anything, his face seemed to briefly contort with an air of sympathy before going blank once more.

   Part of me was tempted to call to the alpha and wake him to see what was happening. He had specifically asked me to keep people from interrupting him though and that meant me as well. So, with a sigh, I leaned back in my chair and waited for the alpha to surface from whatever mental visions he was now experiencing.

   It didn’t take long after that for Evan to begin shifting as he returned to reality. There were a few tall tale signs like the increase of his breath and the presence that I could feel douse the air once more. Gradually, I sensed the flicker of flame against my mind appear in its rightful place. The fire’s presence alone gave me an immense amount of comfort as I sat there, watching Evan rise.

   With a low groan, the alpha opened his eyes and squinted hard at his nightstand. He stayed like that for a moment, seemingly uncertain. Then, he lifted his large head and shook it. Turning, he met my eyes with a frown.

   There, in those golden eyes, I caught sight of a moral struggle which raged between the gold and orange colors of his irises. Whatever he had discovered seemed to be causing a moral dilemma within him.

   I opened my mouth to ask Evan what had happened, but was cut off by a flick of his tail. An involuntary growl worked itself up from my chest at the action. The alpha ignored it in favor of standing and stretching.

   He took his time extending each limb before jumping down from his bed with a sort of feline grace. As soon as he landed on the floor, his eyes began to pulse. I scooted my chair further away as he converted back into his human form.

   The first things to shift were his bones which cracked and scraped as they were torn apart and spliced back together. Then, I watched as the mane of brown fur on the back of Evan’s leopard shortened and morphed itself into a distorted mop of hair on the top of his head. The alpha’s face retained its feline qualities as he straightened but, for the most part, he seemed to change almost completely. Even his eyes reverted all the way back to their original mocha color.

   “He’s in bad shape.” Evan remarked as he stood on two feet once more.

   With a shiver, he stretched out an arm and rotated the wrist and his shoulder. The alpha grimaced as several pops sounded from his bones before he repeated the process with the other arm.

   I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “I still have no clue what you’re talking about Evan. You seem to forget that you haven’t told me anything yet.”

   For a moment, Evan hesitated. In his eyes, I could see the curtain that usually covered his emotions crack open ever so slightly. Behind it, I caught glimpses of thousands of mysteries which lingered in his gaze as he looked up at me.

   “Mini had a nightmare last night.” The alpha started.

   I tilted my head to the side. “What does that have to do with anything?”

   Evan shook himself out and twisted around to stretch his back a little before sitting down on the edge of his bed. With a small motion, he gestured for me to scoot forward. I followed the subtle command without complaint.

   “Brock…” The alpha began before trailing off, as though he were uncertain how to word a particularly complex question.

   I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “Yeah?”

   “Did you have any nightmares last night?” The alpha asked in a voice which was filled with unease.

   “Not that I remember of. Why?” I asked, confusion curling into the closer reaches of my mind.

   “Because…” Evan mumbled but cut himself off with a low growl. Then, he shook his head and made direct eye contact with me. I flinched at the intensity therein but stood my ground as Evan continued.

   “Mini had a dream about the experimentalist labs last night.” The alpha stated in a clear cut voice.

   At first, I didn’t quite understand the importance of this. Just as it had done the other day though, the word “lab” sank in and I was reminded of the things that I had seen during my time spent in those metal confines. The screams, the pain.

   In my mind, I could just barely hear the low moans of the people in the cages next to me and the feeling of metal against my claws. During my time there,  I had missed the grass the most. The softness. Even a rock torn from a mountain wall would have been beautiful compared to the wretched gray walls of my cage.

   I felt my heart rate increase and my palms grow sweaty as the wall between me and my memories cracked a little. To wish for anyone to experience such pain and suffering would be the cruelest form of treachery against the soul. The blockage in my mind kept me from seeing the worst of the memories from that place, but I knew the connotation of the experiences and I knew that they were bad.

   “Moo?” Evan called to me, his eyes flashing with concern. I stared at him for a second before shaking my head.

   “I’m fine.” I muttered, shoving my memories and momentary panic back behind the mental curtain I used to shield myself from the labs. A nervous lump in my throat kept me from saying anything else for a good minute.

   “How much did he- er... what did he see?” I asked after swallowing my nerves. Evan’s lips pinched together in concern.

   “I’m not sure.” The alpha responded with a sympathetic expression. “He said that he experienced everything though. He's convinced it was someone's memory.”

   “No one should ever experience those thoughts, whether it’s in a memory or not. What kind of sick person would share those memories?” I hissed angrily, lifting my head to look at the alpha.

   “Mini's not sure and neither am I, but I could feel his panic this morning. It was almost like what I imagine would happen if one of you were being murdered.” The alpha dropped his eyes to the ground as he said this.

   I shook my head and buried my face in my hands. “That sounds awful.”

   “Yeah. I can’t imagine what Mini experienced. It seems that all I ever get from his mind is second hand smoke compared to what he actually experiences. His anxiety attacks are the worst, but today has been on a whole other level.” The alpha admitted. I frowned.

   During my time in the labs, I had met many telepaths who broke me down from the inside. Several times, they would force their way into my mind and ransack all of my memories and emotions. They observed my responses to certain situations and tested several hallucinogens on me. Some of these drugs were designed to make me see the worst things I could imagine, such as my family being murdered or my foot being chopped off.

   By the time Evan helped me escape, I'm certain the humans and demons working in those labs knew more about me than I knew about myself, both physically and mentally. Since then, I had trained to keep up strong mental defenses. Without my werecat to protect me, I had learned to be extra vigilant since I couldn't always watch my back. Therefore, even without him, I had strong defenses.

   I thought I was invincible. Evan though...

   I knew that Evan had telepathic abilities. Most alphas do. However, what most of the pack didn't know was that his abilities went beyond simply sensing how the members of his pack felt.

   About seven months into our travels together, before Evan had ever claimed me as a member of his pack, the alpha had once entered my mind without my permission.

   After having so many people rifling through my head, I knew when to recognize the sensation of someone entering my thoughts. That was the thing that disturbed me the most about Evan though.

   The alpha had slipped past all of my defenses just out of sheer curiosity. Later on, I discovered that he hadn’t even noticed my defenses. I hadn’t known that he was even there until an hour later when I turned to make a regular patrol of my mind in the middle of my sleep and found him in the midst of my Memory Cabinets.

   Once I realized who it was, I cursed him and locked myself into a corner of my mind in order to push him out. I knew now that I'd left my physical body vulnerable by doing so, but I didn't care at the time.

   In fact, I spent about seven hours after that questioning my reality and whether or not my escape from the lab had simply been an illusion. I questioned if Evan was real or someone I made up. I questioned if he was someone from the labs disguised as a “friend” in order to observe how I naturally acted in the outside world. I questioned if my name was actually Brock. I questioned whether or not all of my memories were real or if I’d been programmed with them. I questioned _everything_.

   Eventually, I gained some sort of grasp on reality, but I continued questioning every move I made for the next few weeks. At the same time, I refused to talk to Evan at all during the first week for fear that he was an agent in the labs. The rest of the time, I answered his questions but in short quips.

   Since that incident with Evan, I had fortified my mind to the highest degrees. Even Nogla had agreed to help me in my endeavors after the first year of knowing him. I tested my attacks and defenses on him several hundred times in the years following.

   My defense had always been better than my attack though and, by the end of my training, I knew I could hunker down into my thoughts and protect my mind without separating completely from my body. I knew that I had enough training to possibly enter someone else's mind if it was already weak. The thought disturbed me so much after the labs that I had never tried it though.

   When Evan first started talking about making a pack from the people who were traveling with us, I was dubious to say the least. By then, I had learned about an alpha’s ability to stay in contact with the minds of their pack members.

   It was for this reason that I gave Evan a warning before he made his decision on making the pack. I made him swear that he would never enter the mind of a pack member without their explicit permission.

   Nowadays, I was certain that no one could get into my mind, not even Evan. Last night had been a good example of the strength which I held with my mental capacities. I had succeeded in keeping the presence from last night out of my mind- even though the person had only been trying to thank me for something.

   That same thing didn’t apply to the other members of the pack though. Mini had a nightmare about the labs which he believed to be memories. Someone gave him those memories. Suddenly, Evan coming to me about this made sense.

   “You think I gave my memories of the labs to Mini.” I stated rather than questioned. Evan’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

   “Perceptive as ever Brock.” The alpha contemplated coolly. “Yes, that is part of the reason why I’ve come to you so early in the morning. I’m not the one who thinks so though. Mini was the one who thought of it.”

   “You keep saying you talked to Mini about all of this, but earlier you said you haven't had contact with him this morning.” I mused, my brain already making the connections.

   Immediately, my paranoia made me think that Evan could have entered Mini’s mind that morning. Even if it was to protect Mini from a nightmare, despite its content, the simple thought made me sick to my stomach.

   For a moment, I could feel old wounds crack open as Evan shifted so that he could hold a hand up in a placating gesture. He seemed to understand exactly what I was thinking as he tensed.

   “Yes, I haven’t talked to Mini physically as of yet. There wasn’t enough time for that, so I woke him up simply by putting pressure on his mind. I did come into contact with him telepathically, but I never entered his mind.” The alpha assured me in a low voice.

   I stared at him for a second, my brain hesitating at this new information. Of course, had Evan actually entered Mini’s mind without permission, I would have been livid. There were many things that the beta had to deal with on his own already. He didn’t need the added stress of having Evan in the midst of his thoughts and seeing all the secrets he was holding for himself.

   “I heard the alarms go off and I decided to take matters into my own hands. Had I not tried to wake him, I fear that Mini would have been lost in the memories which he was given.” Evan continued, lowering his eyes towards the ground. “I wouldn’t disregard my promise to you without due cause Brock… Not after what I did to you.”

   “You have no idea what you did to me.” I muttered, leaning back against my seat with a sigh. My head was already pounding from the exhaustion of paranoia. Evan’s frown deepened, his eyes growing solemn.

   “You're right. I have some clues though.” The alpha remarked, his eyes flickering down to the ground in shame. “I never did apologize.”

   I sunk down into my seat with a sigh.

   Of course, Evan had told me several times after entering my mind that he regretted what he had done. Younger him thought that I shouldn't have been so mad though. Back then, he couldn't grasp what he had done wrong. Although he regretted his actions, he never apologized, especially because it had been something that he did without realizing the importance of the situation. I eventually forgave him, if only for my own sanity.

   That morning after the fight with fox though, I just felt guilty. Present day Evan wouldn’t break our promise. Perhaps he would have when he was younger, but he wouldn’t now. Despite everything that my paranoia made me think, I knew that to be true.

   “I'm sorry Evan. I didn't mean to assume anything. Even after seven years, the whole lab mentality still gets to me.” I huffed forlornly.

   “I understand that…” Evan remarked, his eyes wavering as he stared at the ground.

   I would never remember it until a few months later, but, for a split second, the alpha considered telling me all of his secrets. He was so close that even the curtain over his emotions almost turned transparent.

   I can't help but to think that, had he been able to say what was on his mind that day, none of the events following a few months later would have happened. Perhaps we could have saved the heartache. Maybe if he'd just turned his phone off that morning, I would’ve known sooner. Fate decided otherwise.

   Our conversation was cut short when Evan’s phone began buzzing from the nightstand. It vibrated in three short bursts before going quiet once more. Evan reached over to grab it and tapped a button on the side which made the screen light up.

   “Brian just texted. They need help closing some of the wounds. The fox can’t afford losing any more blood at this point.” Evan answered my questioning glance.

   “Should we wake up Mini then?” I suggested, standing and turning to walk towards the door.

   Evan jumped up immediately and stood in my way. I stared at him in surprise.

   “I don’t think that’s a good idea." The alpha informed me. "He was still a little shaken the last time I talked to him and I think Brian said that him and Tyler were in the bathroom when he got up earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tyler was trying to rewrap Mini’s bandages.”

   “Bandages?” I faltered.

   It took me a second to remember Mini’s situation the last time I’d seen him late last night. The beta hadn’t been able to heal himself at all after the fight. Tyler had agreed to wrap his wounds with bandages, but I didn’t think Mini would still need them this morning. If anything, I thought that it was a temporary thing.

   “Did he get over the healing block?” I inquired uneasily. Evan hesitated long enough for my anxiety to increase tenfold. “Did he get over the block Evan? Can he heal himself?”

   Evan frowned and averted his eyes. “I don’t know.”

   “What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?” I growled. The alpha shook his head, his chest vibrating with his own growl.

   “I mean I don’t know if he can. I didn’t bother checking in the few moments we talked.” Evan retorted.

   “We’re going to check on him then.” I asserted, leading the way out into the hallway and heading down to Mini and Tyler’s rooms. Evan followed me with a low groan of exasperation.

   In the hall, recent scent trails from the two people I was looking for wafted across my nose. With it, came the faint metallic tang of blood. The smell set the hair on the back of my neck on end. Either Mini reopened a wound while he slept or...

   I frowned as we reached the door to Mini’s room, where the scent was most prominent. Raising a hand, I knocked on the hard wood door. No one answered.

   With a huff, I knocked again and, although I could hear shuffling on the other side of the door, no one came to open it. I pursed my lips and glared sideways at Evan who stood next to me with a doubtful look.

   Normally, I would have accepted my defeat and left the matter to another time. The fact that Mini could be in danger made me nervous enough to knock on the door a third time though. Still, no one came.

   “I’m gonna call the meeting here in the next hour. Mini won’t bleed out for at least another day or so.” Evan remarked in a mildly sarcastic tone.

   I glared at him out of the corner of my eye. “He shouldn't be bleeding at all. He should be able to heal himself.”

   “Well, he can't and, if he's asleep already, that would be best. He's gonna need his strength. Let’s just go downstairs and, if they don’t come down for the meeting, then we can start worrying. Sound good?” The alpha contended.

   I took in a deep breath and let it out through my nose. Evan had a point. Mini wasn’t in immediate danger and they were probably already asleep again. We could check later.

   “Fine.” I conceded, clenching my jaw before turning on my heel and making my way towards the stairs. Evan followed with a sympathetic expression as we made our way down one staircase and continued to the second set on our way to the basement.

   A familiar combination of scents greeted me as I made my way downstairs. As soon as I reached the bottom of the steps, the smell of honeydew greeted me along with a certain cologne that intertwined nicely with the scent of fresh rain.

   Our house was set on a hill, so the basement wall opposite the stairs was closed off by the earth which sat on the other side of it. At the bottom of the stairs, the room opened up to the right. Set into the walls of the right side of the room sat big glass doors and windows that spanned the length of the hallway, stretching themselves between the floor and the ceiling. Each one, whether it was one of the two doors or the windows allowed us access to the outdoors. This allowed for a lot of natural light all the way down the hall which led to three rooms and the bathroom.

   One of the doors along this wall was open and, through it, I was able to walk outside. I didn’t bother putting on any shoes on my way out which meant the cold dew strewn grass coated my feet in layers of water. Evan followed along just behind me without shoes as well.

   Above us, the sky was mostly blue with splotches of gray marking the existence of rain clouds that were passing overhead. The trees themselves reminded me of the Yin and Yang symbol: black under the branches and warm and sunny on the top.

   Even under the immense canopy of green leaves, it wasn't hard at all to spot Nogla crouching over something in the grass. His wings were spread just a little to help him keep balance, so I couldn't see what he was working on. I assumed it was the fox that he was crouched over.

   The only thing that I could see over the edge of one of his giant white appendages was Brian’s ginger brown hair sticking out.

   “Mornin’ Brock.” Nogla called over his shoulder as Evan and I approached. I shook my head, ever baffled by Nogla’s ability to know things without being told of their existence.

   “Mornin’ Nogla.” I responded.

   “How’s the work coming boys?” Evan inquired as he rounded the edge of Nogla’s wing and looked down at whatever they were messing with.

   “Slow, but we've gotten most of this gunk washed off.” Brian replied, his voice muffled.

   For a moment, I hesitated. From the edge of Nogla’s wing, I could see that one of our green garden hoses was being used by either Nogla or Brian. I couldn’t tell who since I stood behind them.

   I knew they were cleaning the fox. Underneath the calming smell of rain and the scents coming from the others, I could smell the stench that I’d already began associating with the fox. Plus, Evan had already told me what Brian and Nogla were doing.

   We knew nothing about how long it had been since the wounds were inflicted upon the fox, let alone how long he had been in the forest without medical attention or a bath. Therefore, the smell was to be expected. Still, there was an artificial tang that wafted up from the ground that reminded me of the labs, setting my hair on end.

   With a frown, I continued forward and rounded the edge of Nogla’s wing.

   What I was met with wasn’t nearly as immense or horrifying as what I had seen last night. Not at first at least.

   From where I squeezed myself between Evan and Nogla, I came first to the butt end of the fox. Almost the entire length of his body had been soaked in water. The cool liquid streamed out from his fur, its color tinged with blood, as Nogla continued running the hose back and forth. Brian sat, crouched, over the fox’s front half, his hands rifling through the fur and washing the dirt from the body beneath him.

   Currently, the werecat had his sleeves rolled up and was working on untangling a patch of fur on the fox’s shoulder. For the most part, he had already succeeded in washing most of the dirt from it. As I watched though, I could see that there was also a clump of congealed blood in that area that Brian was carefully cleaning.

   The fox himself already seemed halfway clean. Everything from his tail up to his shoulders seemed to be flat with water. Not an ounce of dirt or blood had been left on his lower area. Even the fox’s once bushy tail had been reduced to a long stick of bone and muscle which curled out ever so slightly from his body.

   In general, he seemed much less threatening like this, soaked in water in the broad daylight. His fur almost seemed to have been vacuum sealed to his skin because of the water. This made for a terrible spectacle as I observed his lower half and recognized that there was basically nothing but backbone to make up the area where his stomach should have been. Even his legs seemed like scrawny chicken bones. Just above his thigh, I could see a long gash which extended along his side and ended somewhere near the fox’s shoulder blade.

   It was hard to believe that this fox had even stood a chance against all four of us last night.

   As I continued my observations, Evan went back inside to grab something and came back a moment later with a dark towel. With it, he began gently drying the fox’s hindquarters. The gesture gave me a solemn sense of gratitude towards the young alpha.

   After a moment, my gaze returned to the fox and I glimpsed once more the burn which I had witnessed last night. Immediately, I shifted around the fox’s body to see the wound better.

   A spike of pain lanced through my ankle as I crouched down to take a look at the fox’s back. Most of the fur had been washed off there, but as I poked around the wound, I discovered that some of the skin was still scabbed over and attached to dried chunks of blood. I tried pulling at one of the dried chunks to clean it off but quickly discovered that I couldn’t clean it without tearing off the scab. Fresh blood and water streamed out from the fox’s pelt as I retracted my fingers from the wound on his back.

   I didn't want to sit down for fear that my butt would get soaked from the rain water covering the grass, but my ankle was bothering me. So, I kneeled down instead and reached forward once more to place my palm on the fox’s wound.

   Something familiar began thrumming deep within my core as I pressed into the wound on a molecular level and began searching for ways to close the bleeding.

   As I did so, I continued observing my surroundings and the condition of the fox.

   Off to my side, I could see that Brian and Nogla had laid a small blue towel under the fox’s head to keep it up off the ground. As Brian moved closer to his head, the towel became soaked with the water from the hose.

   Underneath the fox, I noticed another towel which was already soaked and sprayed with small splotches of mud. Most of it was under the fox, but the excess corners were stuffed up close to the fox’s body. I assumed that this was what the boys had been using to move the fox away from muddy spots.

   Sure enough, as I glanced around the surrounding area, I could already tell that they had moved the fox several times. There were a few different spots where the grass had been swallowed up by mud from the hose. The previous day’s rain didn’t seem to have helped either.

   “Hey Brock.” Nogla called down to me as he stretched his back a little and flexed his wings. I finished sealing the part of the wound I’d been working on before looking up at him.

   The creature above me seemed to hesitate. For the first time in a long time, I saw a dark tinge of uncertainty in his green eyes.

   “What is it Nogla?” I asked, standing to face him.

   Evan stopped his administrations and looked up to the demon in question as well. Brian, on the other hand, continued working on washing off the fox with a resoluteness I knew he used when he didn’t want to deal with something.

   “You need ta look at his head.” Nogla suggested with a motion towards where Brian was with his free hand. I frowned.

   “Why not wait until I’m done with this?” I inquired dubiously.

   Nogla shook his head. “We’ve been buying time by startin’ at ta ass end. The fox will be in danger if we try ta wash his head off now, so we need to seal it as soon as possible. Even if that wasn’t the case, I would still say that you should heal his head. We found a pool of fresh blood as big round as my hand under t’ere this morning.”

   I glanced down at Evan in question. The alpha simply nodded in agreement.

   Head wounds tend to bleed the most, so it didn’t surprise me that he seemed to be bleeding more from there than anywhere else. If the fox was losing that much blood in so little time though…

   “Alright.” I conceded before making my way towards the head of the fox where Brian sat.

   Just as I crouched down, Brian reached out and grabbed my hand. I stared sideways at him, caught off guard by the action.

   “What?” I faltered.

   Brian turned to look at me with his intense blue eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out through his nose. Then, without another word, he let go of me and turned back to finish his task of cleaning the fox’s neck.

   With a frown, I reached forward and carefully parted the blood clotted fur on the fox’s forehead. It took me a moment to find the source of the bleeding, but, when I did, I immediately regretted it. My stomach clenched with the threat of puking and I had to stand up and walk away with a hand over my mouth to quell my queasiness.

   Hot tears pressed against my eyes to blur my vision as I stood there, willing the image out of my head. Within mere moments, my throat squeezed itself closed until the only way I could breathe was in a hiccupping gasp. A soft hand landed on my back and rubbed slow, comforting circles into my shoulder blade as I stood there with my eyes squeezed shut.

   I took a moment to let the emotions pass through me before I choked back the tears and took a few meditative breaths.

   Mentally, I blurred the image from my mind and focused solely on what I could do to help. It was almost as though I had pulled a hospital curtain in between me and the strongest of my emotions. The fabric was thin and plain looking, so I could still sense my feelings. For the most part though, I was able to obscure them enough to concentrate on what I should do to stop the bleeding. This was something that I’d learned to do in the labs to keep myself somewhat sane.

   “You okay?” Brian asked gently from behind me. I nodded and put my hands on my hips while steeling myself for what I knew I would have to face.

   Underneath all the blood and dirt and infection, I had briefly glimpsed a deep hole in the fox’s skull. The hole was only about the size of a quarter, but I knew just from its design that it had been made by the humans and demons in the lab. Most likely, the hole went all the way through his skull. The only reason They would make a hole like that would be to…

   “What is it Brock?” Evan inquired as he approached us. I turned slowly to face him, one hand coming up to place against my mouth as I swallowed the bile in my throat.

   “There’s a hole in his head…” I cut myself off as my throat constricted once more.

   I had witnessed people who went through the operation before. I didn’t know what it was called, but I had been one of the next ones in line for the procedure. Had Evan and Savannah been just another week or two later, I would have had a similar hole in my head, or at least the beginnings of one.

   The others waited patiently for me to speak. After a moment, I regained my composure and turned to look at Evan. Brian stood off to my side, his hand hovering in the air for a moment before it drifted down again.

   “Whenever they were experimenting with our thoughts, they would sometimes… drill into people’s heads.” I continued with a hesitant glance towards Brian. The werecat’s face went blank, but the skin under his right eye twitched in a sign of barely concealed anger and disgust.

   “I assume they could process whatever information they received with whatever technology they had, but I think the drilling was a way to get information from people.” I began, struggling to remember what happened without revisiting specific memories. “The humans could access memories, thoughts, opinions, all of it, with their telepaths but, for the especially resistant people, they would use drills.

   “I heard from the others that some of the people who underwent the procedure were spies and assassins, people who had information that They wanted. The drills were mainly used for them because their minds were heavily fortified. There were several exceptions though. Some people simply had training already. Either way, if the telepaths couldn't do it, They resorted to the drills.”

   For me, the humans and demons in the lab had only been interested in my thoughts as a subgender. I never thought that They would have ever had much reason to do the procedure on me. I knew that they had been planning to do so only because someone else in the lab had told me my name was on the list. I wasn’t sure what information I could have given them though.

   Next to me, Brian’s previous look of concern deepened into a frown and his eyes glowed dangerously under his ginger eyebrows. I recognized the look as something he did when he was contemplating something negative in nature.

   “Do you think that’s what happened to the fox?” Evan affirmed from the sidelines. I nodded, my eyes trained on Brian’s as he internally fumed over my words.

   “I can stop the bleeding everywhere else, but the head will have to wait for permanent fixes. I don't have the skills to heal bone, so so we'll have to wait until I get the Bone Binder spell from Panda.” I replied, my eyes briefly flickering over to look at Evan. The alpha let out a considerate hum before pulling out his phone.

   “I'll text him and ask him about it.”

   As Evan returned to help dry off the fox with Nogla still hovering over them, I turned back to Brian. The werecat’s eyes were trained on my neck where I knew the bite scars most likely created discolored patches of pale pink skin.

   Subconsciously, I reached up in an attempt to run my fingers over the skin there. Brian’s hand darted towards mine before I could touch them though, his palm covering the scars. In his eyes, I saw a struggle.

   “What’s wrong Brian?” I inquired in a low voice, my hand drifting up to cover his hand. Brian shook his head and took a step closer to me.

   “Just when I think I might understand what you went through in the labs, you always add ot’er gruesome details. Every time I hear about it, I feel more pained than before knowing you went through that by yourself.” Brian admitted in a low voice. “I'm angry and, after my work with the fox in the last half hour, I have a feeling that it's only going to get worse the more we learn about him.”

   I leaned forward to place my forehead on the werecat’s shoulder and sighed.

   “By the end of the day, I think I'll understand why you feel so obligated to help this fox.” Brian finished with a hint of reluctance. I let out a noncommittal grunt and straightened to look at the werecat once more.

   Personally, I knew that Brian had strived to get to know me in the years we knew each other before we started dating. The only things that I hadn't ever told him about were my experiences in the lab though.

   As with most people who experience trauma, my subconscious had built up a wall between me and my memories of the lab. It was the only thing that kept me sane. Therefore, I refused to breach that wall simply for a bitter reminiscent session of what had happened to me.

   “I hope you do understand Brian. Maybe if you guys knew the situation better, I could convince you to keep him.” I confided with a look down at my feet. “With that being said, I also hope you can support part of my argument when Evan calls the meeting later.”

   Brian’s expression pinched in between his eyes and his lips, but he nodded nonetheless.

   “I can try. The others will have arguments that could equal yours in logic though. You must be aware of that Brock.”

   “I'm prepared to defend what I believe is right.” I asserted with a spurious sense of confidence.

   Brian sighed in acceptance and turned around to head back to the fox. I considered Brain’s words as I followed the werecat and knelt down to continue healing the fox’s back.

   Of course, I knew that most everyone would be against taking care of the fox.

   Just from last night, I knew that Scotty and Marcel were angry because the fox had attacked us, which meant there was a high chance that they wouldn't agree to keep the fox. I wasn't sure what other argument they would have beyond that though. Depending on who began the conversation, it could be possible that they would agree with Tyler and Brian. I knew the tiger and the werecat were against it, but only because we didn't have the time or resources to take care of the fox.

   I wasn’t sure how Mini felt about the situation. Somehow, I got the sense that he had only agreed to taking care of the fox last night because he felt guilty for trying to kill him when he was practically helpless.

   Since last night, I hadn't talked to Lui or Panda at all. If I had to guess, I would say that Panda would be indifferent at first. His opinion could swing either way depending on whose argument he thought was better.

   Lui, on the other hand, would be against keeping the fox. I knew that for a fact. The shifter had many trust issues. Personally, I didn't blame him considering he was hunted for years after his family was killed in the Shifter War. After that, he had to do anything to survive. He never trusted anyone. Even with us, it took a long time for him to open up. He would be against it for sure.

   As for Nogla, I wasn't sure what he thought either. For the most part, Nogla always remained indifferent in stressful situations. His reaction could vary like Panda’s. He was a hard man to decipher even after knowing him for several years.

   Evan was an anomaly when it came to the fox. Sure, the alpha had agreed to keep the fox and he had stood by that decision even when it was obvious that nobody else liked it. Even if I hadn’t suggested keeping him, I got the sense that Evan would have argued to have him stay either way. I wasn’t sure why or what importance this fox had to Evan, but I knew he would fight to keep the fox close. Even as I continued healing the animal, I could see the turmoil in the alpha’s eyes.

   Evan was smart. Of course, he would be considering what the others would say like l was. He didn’t seem to be afraid of what consequences would come because of whatever decision was made though. If anything, I saw in his eyes a stubborn resolve to make sure the fox stayed.

   After a while, I shifted around the fox's body to get to his head. Brian had finished washing the dried blood from the fox's neck, but he left the head alone. The werecat went back to the wall of our house and turned off the house before returning with one of the extra towels laying on the ground around us. With it, he began following Evan’s tracks.

   Nogla stood over us, his wings flexing every once in a while. Several times, he beat the enormous appendages back and forth which created a vortex of wind to help dry the fox. Unfortunately, the wind made the already cold morning air that much colder, but we dealt with it.

   For a while, I continued working on closing the bleeding in the fox’s head. I was just starting to finish when I noticed the clouds over our heads growing darker and closer together. A slight breeze had started up through the trees as well which created a low moan all around us.

   Part of my brain contributed this sense of gloom to the fox and, for a moment, I could almost believe that Mother Nature herself was reflecting his state of being.

   I had just finished patching the main parts of the fox’s head that seemed the most mangled when a droplet of water landed on my shoulder. I paid no mind to it, accrediting it to the wind blowing rain drops off the trees around us.

   After a few more drops hit me, however, I became too distracted by it to concentrate on my task at hand. For a second, I thought it was Brian playing around. When I turned to look at the werecat however, I found that he was dutifully focused on drying the fox. Evan was in a similar state of concentration.

   Nogla, on the other hand, gave me a similar look of concern as to what I suspected was also on my face as I looked up at him.

   “Did you feel that too?” The tall demon asked. I nodded.

   Both Evan and Brian squinted up at us with questioning looks. Just as he looked up, Brian flinched, his face scrunching up in irritation. The werecat let out a low curse and rubbed at his left eye with the sleeve of his shirt which was rolled up to his elbows.

   “Is that rain or is that the trees?” Evan asked uncertainly, his head tilting back to look up into the sky.

   “I thought it was the trees too but...” I mused. As I spoke, another droplet bounced off my shoulder.

   “We should start heading inside.” Nogla suggested, his enormous wings spreading out to cover the fox in a protective shield.

   I hopped up off the ground with Evan, my ankle almost giving out as I stood. Brian, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be in a hurry to stand. A part of me knew that he had to be careful with how he moved unless he wanted to crack the temporary mends I had made to his sternum.

   Therefore, Evan and I were the first to begin grabbing the extra towels and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide placed in various places on the ground. We hauled them inside and set them down on the glass table in the middle of the room while Brian concentrated on rolling the hose back up and returning it to its rightful place.

   Just as Evan and I came back outside, the rain clouds above us began releasing their contents on our heads. At first, it was a little sprinkle. Within seconds though, it began pouring.

   “Get over here! Get him inside!” Evan shouted as he ran out to help Brian pick up the fox. I followed close behind.

   Nogla kept his wings spread over our charge as we rushed forward to grab our own sections of the towel which had been stuffed under the animal. Brian took the front end while Evan grabbed the towel at the tail end of the fox and I supported the middle.

   Already, the temperature was beginning to drop around us and the rain had started soaking into our shirts. My knees and my shoulders grew colder and colder the more time we spent outside. I couldn't imagine how cold the fox was getting.

   Nogla’s wings helped cover us from most of the rain as we hauled the fox back. The enormous appendages followed us like a heavy shield and kept us almost completely dry.

   We made short work of the walk back to the safety of the house considering the fox wasn’t all that heavy and there were three of us carrying it. The tricky part was making sure his body didn’t bounce against anything, especially our legs.

   As we neared the entrance, Nogla’s wing shield came down and we were able to get into the room beyond before him. Brian took the lead and stopped between the TV on the wall and the glass table in front of the couch.

   “We’ll set him down right here until we can fully dry him off.” The werecat instructed us.

   With careful motions, we all crouched down as close to the ground as we could before gently setting the fox on the hardwood floor.

   Immediately, I kneeled down in front of the limp animal to continue my work on his head. Evan handed me an extra towel from nearby. I took it with a grateful glance up to him before setting to work on drying what little water had made it to the fox’s head with slow, careful strokes. Brian grabbed another towel and joined me in my labor.

   As we worked, I overheard Nogla say something about his wings. Evan looked up at him before walking over to where I assumed the tall demon stood with two towels in hand. The shadows on the ground shifted as Nogla spread his wings. After that came the faint sound of feathers shuffling against cloth.

   Brian gazed up at them and smiled. I gave him a questioning look as he glanced at me. He simply responded with a nod towards the pair that I knew stood behind me. I twisted around to follow his eyes and couldn’t help but smile as well.

   Standing in the light of what little sun struck through the rain clouds outside, stood Nogla with both of his wings hanging low to the ground. The two appendages dripped with rain water onto the hardwood floor below, creating small puddles under their tips. Nogla himself was working on drying his head with a towel while Evan was dutifully focused on helping him dry his waterlogged wings.

   At any other point in time, even Tyler seemed short compared to Nogla and his wings, even though they were the same height otherwise. Considering those two were the tallest, basically everyone else became dwarfed next to Nogla. Therefore, Evan and Nogla created a hilarious contrast in size, especially when Evan stood beside Nogla’s wings with Nogla himself towering over the alpha.

   “Told ya. He’s a little kid.” Brian muttered affectionately.

   I shook my head, a fond smile creeping onto my lips. “They both are, even though Evan is older than Nogla.”

   “Yeah by like a month or two.” Brian retorted in a playful tone. I chuckled and turned back to continue my work.

   Behind me, I could still hear Evan drying Nogla’s wings for the next five minutes or so. Afterwards, Nogla shifted, the shadows of his wings folding back into his body. I glanced over my shoulder and found the demon flexing his wings experimentally.

   Almost as soon as I turned around, a vibration started up in Nogla’s wings. The motion seemed to pass through every single feather covering both appendages and traveled into Nogla’s body itself. The demon shivered as the tremors passed through his body. Once they stopped, Evan looked up at him with an exasperated expression.

   “Ya done?” He queried.

   Nogla sniffed and wiggled his nose before sneezing. The motion caused him to lean forward and slap Evan in the back of the head with one of his wings. The alpha let out a surprised yelp and stumbled away from his attacker while Nogla straightened with a smug grin on his face.

   “What a dick.” Brian remarked even though I could see the amused smirk growing on his face.

   “I agree.” Evan growled as he stood and glared at Nogla. The demon simply yawned and stretched, his arms stretching far above his head.

   I was so focused on him making an “L” shape with his fingers in the air that I didn’t notice his wing stretching out to smack Evan another time. The alpha seemed similarly surprised as his head bounced forward.

   Before Evan could retaliate, Nogla quickly ran up the stairs with a giddy laugh and promptly disappeared. Evan was left with his mouth hanging open as he stared up the steps after the white winged creature.

   “You just got juked.” Brian commented from his spot next to me. I chuckled as Evan turned to glare at him before hanging his head in shame.

   “I should have seen it coming.” The alpha muttered, his hands coming up to rub his face in harsh motions.

   “I mean ya. That would have been smart.” I agreed.

   Evan smiled a little as he came over to us and sat down right next to me. From this distance, I could smell the underlying scent of chocolate coming from the alpha. It was definitely an improvement from the bitter smell of anger he’d been wearing earlier.

   “That’s alright. I’ll get him back later.” The shifter chuckled as he snatched the towel I was using from my hands and scooted into me until I moved over. I rolled my eyes but obeyed the motion and shifted over until I was sitting just above the fox’s head. Evan sat close to me, his thighs brushing mine.

   I didn’t notice it at the time, but Brian’s expression changed ever so slightly as Evan shifted closer to me. Even afterwards, his face remained pinched.

   I’m not sure how long we spent administering to the fox considering I didn’t know when we started. By the time we finished though, my back and my butt ached from sitting on the hardwood floors for too long on top of the pain I was already experiencing from last night.

   Brian and Evan seemed similarly affected even though they had finished drying the fox to the best of their ability before me. Afterwards, they sat with their hands balanced, palms up, on their knees. Fur, dirt, and blood clung to each of their fingertips.

   “What time is it?” I groaned as I finished closing the last of the bleeding. Evan and Brian shook their heads.

   “I have no clue and I’m not gonna check my phone with these nasty hands.” Brian answered as he got up and disappeared down the hallway towards what I assumed would be the bathroom at the end of the hall.

   “Man has a point.” Evan conceded before getting up to follow him. I sighed and got up to do the same.

   Along the hallway, there were four different openings which led to the rooms where rock beds and giant tree branches had been strung through each space. Each of them was painted and designed to look like different environments that suited each of our animal forms.

   The first room we passed held several giant rocks stacked on top of each other. The floor and the walls were all covered in sand textures which suited a desert mountain type of environment. This environment provided most useful to Anthony whose mountain lion form preferred the arid mountains the most.

   The second room we came across held several large bushes, each of them real and authentic in their designs. Underneath them, we had cut holes in the flooring and dug divots into the ground below so that they could grow. We kept maintenance on them and made sure to clean up after the messes they made. That was part of the reason these rooms were so close to doors which led outside.  

   The walls of this room were painted a deep shade of green as well. This room was meant to simulate the lush green forests from further north in the continent. For the most part, Nogla, Brian, and I liked this one the most. It reminded us of our homes.

   The third and final room was set up in a jungle like format. The trees which grew in that room were hybrids between cotton trees and the trees of the tropical climates so that they could grow properly. Just like the bushes of the second room, parts of the floor had been cut out so that the trees could grow from the soil beneath the house.

   Of course, basically everyone else in the pack liked this room much more than the other two.

   At the very end of the hallways sat a large bathroom. This room was split into two areas which could be sectioned off by a thick curtain. On one side sat a big jacuzzi which could fit up to six people and, of course, the other half of the room was a regular bathroom with a toilet, a sink, and a shower.

   Brian beat Evan and I to the sink. By the time we got there, the werecat had already started washing his hands under the orange hued faucet. Evan took his place after he finished, and I followed the alpha following that.

   As I finished washing my hands of the grime that they had collected, I turned off the water and pivoted to look for a towel to dry my hands. Evan handed me the one he had been using which I took with a small “thank you”.

   “It’s 10:13.” Brian piped up, his phone in hand.

   “You should probably text everyone and tell them to get some breakfast before the meeting.” I suggested to Evan.

   The alpha nodded before pulling out his phone from his front right pocket and opening it with a few deft movements.

   Brian and I looked across Evan at each other with similar looks of exhaustion. Last night had been taxing and we hadn’t gone to bed until like one in the morning. To be woken up at nine in the morning after such a night then was tiring. I could see in his eyes that Brian felt the same.

   After a moment, Evan took a deep breath and let it out as he went to shove his phone into his front left pants pocket. He hesitated and, looking down, I could see why.

   The entire left half of the alpha’s sweatpants were still drenched from the rain and from drying the fox. Even his shirt seemed to cling to him, exposing a lean torso hardened with firm muscles. Normally, the shirt he was wearing fluffed out and hung loosely off his muscular shoulders. Even with it being somewhat dry though, the material now stuck to his arms and chest. This was a fact that, up until that moment, I hadn’t noticed.

   “You should probably get changed before the meeting.” Brian suggested with a strange expression. Evan nodded.

   “Yeah. I’ll get right on that. In the meantime, you guys should change as well and find something to eat.”

   Brian and I bowed our heads in agreement before heading out to the original room we’d been in with Evan just in front of us. The alpha didn't stop once he get there though. Instead, he kept walking up the first flight of stairs on the left side of the room. By habit, Brian and I both followed him without question.

   Just as we got reached the top of the stairs though, I stopped and glanced back down the steps.

   “What about a guard for the fox?” I asked, turning back to Evan who had continued walking towards the next flight of stairs.

   The alpha hesitated, his foot catching slightly on the first step leading upstairs. I watched a look of brief panic flit across his face before it disappeared and Evan shrugged.

   “I think he’ll be fine. He’s too weak to do anything right now, so he won’t need a guard for an hour or two. Plus, everyone needs to be at the meeting..” The alpha responded before continuing up the stairs.

   I frowned as he disappeared from my field of vision before turning to Brian. To my surprise, Brian was already looking at me with his eyebrows furrowed and a hand pointed up to the alpha in disbelief.

   “Is he always that secretive?” The werecat uttered in disbelief.

   I sighed. “Nowadays, I’m starting to think that it’s becoming an inherent part of his personality.”

   Brian shook his head. “Sometimes, I don’t understand him.”

   “You and me both.” I muttered under my breath. Brian scoffed.

   “Well, do you want to make breakfast while I find us some clothes?”

   “Sure.” I agreed, my hand subconsciously reaching for my phone as I considered texting Mini.

   The motion faltered a little when Brian wrapped a hand around the back of my head and pulled me forward so that he could kiss my forehead. Without a word, he then proceeded upstairs, leaving me in faint surprise.

   A small bundle of nerves and happiness appeared in my chest as I walked to the kitchen and poured Brian and I some cereal. In my mind's eye, I could see my werecat get up and shift so that he could see what I saw. From him, I sensed a tinge of interest.

   Personally, I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat much and I knew Brian would most likely feel the same as well. I made a mental note to find some pain relievers for Brian and I before the meeting.

   I brought out my phone as I waited for Brian to come back and contemplated texting Mini once more. He would be down soon though and I could always ask him about his dream later. I wasn’t in a hurry to revisit sore memories with the leopard anyway.

   So, with a sigh, I put my phone back on the counter and began eating my cereal.

   Brian came down a few minutes later with some clothes draped over his arm. Already, he had changed into fresh sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. I took my clothes from him with a murmured thanks before going to the bathroom down the hall to change.

   As soon as I finished, I went back to the kitchen where Brian was waiting for me. He watched me come towards him with a tired but admiring gaze.

   For a moment or two, Brian and I both sat, leaning against the counter, and munched on our cereal in silence. Eventually though, we finished our food and put our bowls in the sink before heading into the living room where the meeting would take place.

   So far, nobody else had showed up, so we had the ability to pick where we sat. I choose to sit down on the right side of the room, on the couch closest to the recliner I knew Evan would sit in. As I sat, I leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees.

   Brian sighed and took a seat on the floor in front of me, his back leaning against the awning in the middle of the room. On his face, a frown that I recognized as the beginnings of frustration crossed his lips.

   “What’s on your mind?” I asked gently.

   “Nothing.” Brian responded. I frowned and leaned further forward to grab one of Brian’s hand. I held it with a gentleness that I knew would eventually coax the werecat into spilling what was on his mind.

   As expected, Brian crumbled after a moment of staring at our hands. With a sigh, he gripped my hand a little tighter and looked up at me, his electric blue eyes piercing mine.

   “I ran into Evan again upstairs before I went to your room. He seemed even more strange than before.” The werecat murmured.

   I arched an eyebrow. “In what way?”

   Brian shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

   For a moment, he paused, his gaze traveling down towards his legs. The expressions on his face shifted several times and I got the sense that he was more bothered then he showed by Evan’s cryptic attitude as of late.

   “As much as I hate to admit it, you're the closest to him Brock.” Brian continued. I winced internally, knowing from previous experience that Brian was always uneasy about this fact.

   “Do you know what’s going on with him?” The werecat asked before I could think any further on the subject.

   I reached up to itch my nose and rubbed a hand over my face.

   Part of me knew that Evan was bothered by what Mini experienced this morning. Beyond that, I automatically assumed that Brian and I both knew he was thinking about the fox. If anything, it seemed as though even my thoughts were revolving around the demon harbored in our basement.

   For a moment, I debated on whether or not I should tell Brian about what Evan told me of Mini this morning. Of course, word might get out later on in the day, but Mini should have had his own autonomy over who he told. Still...

   After a second, I sighed. Brian would probably figure it out sooner or later.

   “Mini had a nightmare last night. Apparently, it was so bad that Evan woke up and had to go check on him. He told me that he thought Mini was being murdered. Ever since then, he’s been acting strange.” I told Brian, careful not to give away too much. The rest of the story would be Mini’s to tell.

    “Remind me to check on Mini when he gets down here.” Brian murmured, his face pinched with concern and a hint of confusion as he met my eyes.

   “You won’t have to wait very long...” I murmured as I glanced over towards the kitchen.

   From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a familiar brown haired head and a white hoodie as Mini came half stumbling around the corner of the kitchen. Turning my head, I stared across the room at him with ambivalence, noting the unsteady way that he was standing. In front of me, I could see Brian doing the same.

   Mini hesitated for a moment near the island counter in the middle of the kitchen, his eyes landing on us as he looked up. In just his stature alone, I could sense pain and anxiety.

   The beta seemed surprised to see us at first. After a moment though, he regained his composure and took a few steps towards us.

   Before he even reached the edge of the kitchen, Brian jumped up and approached him with quick steps. The werecat came to a stop just in front of Mini with a concerned expression.

   “Good morning to you too Brian.” The beta greeted him with a slightly forced smile.

   Brian seemed to pause at this before turning back to me with a questioning look. From his expression, I gathered that he to could smell the anxiety coming from Mini. I shook my head and stood to join them while Brian turned to face Mini again.

   “Brock told me that you had a nightmare. Are you alright?” The werecat inquired worriedly.

   For a moment, Mini watched Brian with curiosity. Then, his gaze shifted to me and he gave me a confused look.

   “How’d you sleep Brock?” He asked, turning to face me fully.

   “Before you ask, I'm not responsible for what happened in your dreams. The memories weren’t mine. I have never shared those memories with you, nor will I ever.” I stated in a firm voice.

   Mini stared at me in bafflement as he considered my words. “How did you know what I was gonna ask?”

   “Evan came to me this morning. He said that he had been visiting you upstairs, in your room…” I responded with a significant look at the beta.

   For a moment, Mini’s eyes met mine and we shared a similar look of concern. I knew immediately that he understood what I meant.

   “I’m not responsible for the visions Mini.” I continued after a second. “My dreams were mostly uninterrupted I think. You could even ask Brian.”

   "You're the only one who could have shown me those things though.” Mini insisted with a pleading look.

   I shook my head, my heart growing heavy with the knowledge that Mini had probably been counting on it to be me. The beta’s scent spiked as he gazed at me.

   "Maybe. It wasn't me though.” I reiterated in a gentle tone.

   “It had to be.” Mini reasoned with a distraught expression. “You’re the only one who has access to my mind that has experienced the labs.”

   “Wait. What about the labs?” Brian interrupted, his look of concern increasing as he looked between Craig and I.

   I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye just before the werecat turned to look at me. Immediately, I dropped my gaze and tried to avoid eye contact.

   “Brock?” Brian questioned, leaning forward a little to try and catch my eye.

   “Someone shared memories of the human labs with me last night.” Mini answered for me. I gave him a grateful glance.

   “What the fuck? Is that actually something that can happen?” Brian hissed uneasily, turning to look at me. I nodded.

   “Yeah. As long as someone has the skill, it’s not impossible for that to happen.” I contended.

   “Who would have that skill?” The werecat inquired uncertainly.

   Mini sighed and shook his head. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

   “I'm sorry Craig. I know you must have been counting on it to be me. My memories are mine though. To share them with someone, even for educational purposes, would be against everything I believe in.” I asserted with a sympathetic look towards the beta in front of me.

   Mini shook his head and grimaced, his hand coming up to cover the left side of his torso. With a groan, he hobbled around the edge of the counter we stood next to and sat down roughly in one of the chairs on the other side. Almost immediately, he propped his elbows up on the counter and let his head fall into his hands. With stiff motions, he began rubbing at his temples with his fingers.

   I watched his movements with concern and, out of the corner of my eye, I could see Brian doing the same.

   “You okay Craig?” Brian inquired as he took a step closer to the beta.

   “Are you sure it wasn’t you? I know you wouldn’t want to, but you are the only one with access to my mind.” Mini tried once more.

   “I know for a fact it wasn’t me Craig.” I insisted.

   “Fucking shit fuck.” The leopard cursed lowly, his head curling down into his arms.

   As Brian walked over to him and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, I felt the werecat in me stir.

 _He’s wrong y’know._ The animal rumbled, his voice thick and nearly incoherent. In my mind's eye, I turned to stare at him in fear and awe.

   Not only had the werecat never moved in the past ten years, he had also never spoken to me. He had basically gone mute after what my pack did to me and what I experienced in the labs. Even for the past seven years, he never bothered saying anything. To hear him speak was like hearing a rock speak. It was unsettling and almost unnatural.

 _What did you say_? I prompted him uneasily. The werecat shrugged, one bright green eye cracking open to look at me.

   From that one eye, I received an inherent feeling, not for the last time, that the animal knew more about what was happening than I did. On top of that, I got a clear feeling of doubt. That doubt was directed towards Mini and his nightmare.

 _What is he wrong about_? I inquired, pressing the question into my werecat’s mind. The animal huffed and flicked his ears at me in irritation as he mentally shoved me away.

 _Think about it_. The animal quipped.

   I shook my head. _About what?_

 _Who has access_? The werecat mused with a contemplative look at some point beyond my shoulder.

   I frowned. _Evan already said he didn't do it. Me and him are the only two people who could give Craig memories of the labs_.

   For a moment, everything was silent and I barely registered the sounds of Mini and Brian conversing in low voices in the outside world. My werecat closed his eyes before standing and letting out a sigh. From him, I received a sense of extreme disappointment.

 _All day you think it, yet you don't accept the true one._  The animal grumbled as he walked away into the midst of my Memory Cabinets like he did last night.

   I stared after him in wonder. Evan and I hadn’t done anything to Mini. Neither of us gave our memories to him. No one else in the house knew about the labs though. Perhaps it truly was just a dream that Mini had. Still, I continued having the sneaking suspicion that I knew what was happening. Somewhere in my mind, I knew who was causing this. I didn’t want to admit it though.

   With a growl, I returned to the real world and shook my head. Brian and Mini were still standing in the spot I’d last seen them in, but Craig was smiling just a little. It seemed as though I had just missed Brian making a joke and I couldn’t help but smile internally as Mini’s whole demeanor shifted to accommodate the shiny ball of sunshine next to him.

   “See? I told you I could get you to smile.” Brian murmured as he patted Mini on the back. The beta simply smiled up at him and rolled his eyes.

   “Bad pickup lines. What can I say? They’re my weakness.” Craig mumbled. I gave Brian a questioning look to which he simply smirked.

   “I stole one of your pickup lines. Hope you don’t mind.” The werecat teased.

   I shook my head with a small chuckle. “As long as you use it responsibly, I don’t care what you steal.”

   “Does that mean I can rob a gas station and you wouldn’t get mad at me?” Brian asked excitedly.

   I glared at him out of the corner of my eye. “I wouldn’t get mad but I’m pretty sure Evan would.”

   “What am I mad at?” A voice appeared from the bottom of the staircase leading upstairs. I turned to see Evan standing at the entrance.

   “Good morning Evan.” Mini murmured as he approached. The alpha gave him a genuinely concerned look before he caught sight of the slight smile on Mini’s face.

   “Mornin’ Craig. I would ask how you slept but I’m pretty sure I already know the answer.” Evan responded causing Mini to hesitate. For a moment, the beta seemed apprehensive before the expression was wiped off his face and he shrugged.

   “It wasn’t that bad. I’ve seen rats worse than what I saw last night if you catch my drift.” Mini joked, his smile a little forced.

   Evan glanced up at me with an apologetic look and I realized that he felt guilty for ruining the mood that Brian had been working to improve. Said werecat gave Evan a frustrated glare as he rested his hand on Mini’s shoulder. The beta looked over at the hand before clearing his throat.

   “Y’know, you were supposed to wake me up so I could cover a guard shift for you last night.” Mini mused. Evan faltered, a look of regret crossing his face.

   “I wanted to let you sleep a bit longer." The alpha hesitated before averting his eyes. “I tried to help you before it got to that point Mini. I tried to wake you up. I want you to know that.”

   Craig gave Evan a look of empathy. In his eyes, I could see that he didn’t blame the alpha. I realized then that Evan regretted not waking Mini sooner though. Perhaps if he had, Mini wouldn’t have experienced his terrible nightmares. I knew Evan would be thinking the same thing.

   Before anyone could say anything else, Mini surprised all of us by jumping up and crossing the length of the counter to hug Evan who was standing at the other end. The alpha let out a shocked grunt, his body seizing a little. After a moment though, he returned the gesture and buried his face in Mini’s shoulder.

   “Little kid.”

   I smiled a little and turned to look at Brian. The werecat sat, watching the scene before him unfold, with an ambivalent expression.

   “He’s only like a year younger than you.” I remarked in a low voice. Brian glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before looking away with a playfully innocent expression.

   “What? I didn’t say anything.” The werecat averred. I chuckled.

   After a moment, Evan and Mini released each other.

   “Well, should we wait for the others?” Brian suggested as he walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch we’d claimed earlier. Mini let out a quiet sigh while Evan and I made our own grunts of agreement.

   I sat down next to Brian near the arm rest closest to Evan’s seat which was one solitary recliner at the opposite end of the TV and the fireplace. Mini, on the other hand, stayed in the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets.

   “There’s some muffins left in the fridge if you want some.” I called to the beta.

   Mini paused before going to the fridge and pulling out the container of muffins I’d mentioned and the milk. He set them down on the counter before grabbing two glasses out of the cupboard. Once they were both full and he’d pulled out two muffins from the container, he placed everything back in the fridge. Somehow, the beta managed to precariously balance everything in his arms.

   I watched his actions with intrigue as he walked into the room with the glasses and the muffins and rounded the edge of Evan’s seat. Silently, he set down one of the glasses of milk on the end table next to the alpha’s chair. With another hand, he held out the muffins within Evan's reach.

   Evan looked up at the beta with surprise but took one of the muffins nonetheless.

   “Thanks Mini.” The alpha murmured, his eyes gazing down at his food. The beta let out a hum of acknowledgement before turning and walking towards the two seater couch across from us with his remaining glass of milk and his muffin.

   Marcel was the first member to appear for the meeting. His face still held the pensive note that I had noticed last night when we first brought in the fox.

   The alpha didn’t say anything to any of us. He simply got himself a muffin and some milk and came to sit down on the furthest side of the room near the TV. It was clear that he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anybody, so nobody tried.

   Tyler was the next person to join us. He came downstairs in a grey and white t-shirt with some grey pants. His first stop was to get some food from the kitchen.

   Like Brian and I, the alpha opted for some cereal. Once he made his bowl, he walked over to Mini and looked down at the beta who was firmly planted in the middle of two seats and staring up at him with a playful expression. Tyler rolled his eyes.

   "Scoot over would ya?” The alpha lowkey ordered. Mini chuckled as he scooted closer to the arm of the couch to make room.

   “Nice to know someone loves me.” The beta remarked in a sarcastic tone. Tyler reached over and ruffled Mini’s hair playfully before focusing his attention on his food.

  Panda and Nogla came down soon after Tyler. The two were conversing with each other as they approached, and they continued their conversation as they began grabbing food.

   “Oh! Here’s a good one.” Panda commented as he leaned against the island counter, his phone in hand. “Would you rather only talk in the third person, or never be able to call somebody by name. I mean, you already say- and Daithi said, ‘Hey guys. Daithi is here’.”

   The two demons chuckled, Panda’s laugh slightly overshadowing Nogla’s. Nogla shook his head a little.

   “Yeah, fuck that shit. I would go with never be able to call someone by name.”

   Panda nodded and clicked something on his phone before showing the screen to Nogla with an amused grin. Nogla took one look at the screen and immediately let out a cry of disbelief while Panda laughed.

   “No! What? I would have no problem- callin’- not callin’ someone by name. I’d be like ‘Hey you. Cunt. Come over here.’” Nogla argued causing Panda to wheeze.

   “You can’t just do that everywhere you go.” Jiggly laughed.

   “I’d give them titles but not names. I’d have no problem with that.” Nogla continued. Panda let out a short chuckle and shook his head.

   “Are you guys seriously playin’ Would You Rather?” Brian called to them from his spot next to me. Nogla turned to look at him while Panda took the winged creature’s spot to make his own food.

   “Fuck yeah. You want in?” Nogla responded with a smile. Brian shrugged as the winged creature walked over to a spot next to the couch Mini and Tyler had already claimed. His wings draped themselves over the back of the couch with a grace that surprised me as he sat down.

   “Sure. Why not?” The werecat replied.

   I smiled and tuned in and out of their conversation as they continued the game Panda and Nogla had started. Panda joined us after a moment, opting for a spot on the other side of Brian, in between the werecat and Marcel.

   Scotty was the second to last person to come down the stairs. The panther grabbed his own food from the kitchen before joining us as well. He settled down near Nogla, making sure to leave a spot in between them. Marcel glanced up at him before looking away. Scotty let out a sniff and turned away from the alpha as well. I thought the action peculiar but didn’t comment on it.

   We waited another five minutes for Lui after Scotty appeared. Everybody else in the room entertained themselves by discussing Would You Rather questions and the likes. After ten minutes total had passed, it seemed as though we would never see Lui and I could tell that Evan was getting a little impatient. The man was a stickler for time.

   Personally, I knew that Lui’s actions were a form of protest and, already, my earlier conviction that he would be against keeping the fox increased. Evan seemed similarly concerned as he glanced up at me.

   I shifted a little in my seat so that I could discreetly lean over the arm of the couch towards the alpha. Evan leaned forward in his seat as well, his elbows resting on his knees.

   “I’m not sure if he’ll show.” I muttered in a low voice, my head tilted to the side so that it was mostly Evan who heard it.

   The alpha took in a deep breath before letting it out. “I’m not sure either. He’s always had trust issues. I don’t think this will be any different in that regard.”

   I nodded. “I was thinking the same thing earlier as well.”

  Evan glanced at me out of the corner of his eye with a small smirk. “You always seem to be a few steps ahead of me Brock. Obviously, you’ve considered what everyone will say here already. Tell me, what are your predictions?”

   I smiled a little, knowing that Evan didn’t give out compliments easily. That he was asking me what I thought would happen was a compliment in and of itself.

   “Well.” I started. “We both seem to be on the same opinion about Lui’s reaction. Of course, we both know how Brian, Mini, and Tyler responded as well.”

   “For the others then?” Evan prompted when I turned to look at everybody in the living room for a second as most of them began laughing. Tyler smiled a little but didn’t join in and Scotty and Marcel seemed too distracted to do anything other than glare at spots on the walls around the room.

   “I think both Panda and Nogla will be indifferent at first.” I answered, turning back to Evan once more. “Their opinions can sway. Most likely, I think both of them will agree to keep the fox in the end though. As for Scotty, I’m not entirely sure now. Last night, he seemed to be extremely against it, but his opinions might have changed. I think Marcel will be against it at first as well. They’ll be hard to convince.”

   “Not if I have my second in command handy.” Evan murmured. I turned my head to give him a questioning look. The alpha simply smiled and rolled his eyes.

   For a moment, I considered asking him what he meant but, before I could open my mouth, the sounds of footsteps on the stairs caught my attention. I glanced up over Evan’s head to see Lui standing in the kitchen. The shapeshifter gave me a strange look before gathering supplies for his own bowl of cereal.

   “I’m assuming that’s him.” Evan remarked. I glanced down to see that his mocha eyes were trained on me.

   “Yeah, and it seems our prediction was correct.” I answered, dropping my gaze to the floor.

   Evan let out a sigh, his leg beginning to bounce a little the moment Lui’s scent drifted across our noses under everyone else’s diverse aromas.

    After a moment, the other shapeshifter joined us, taking up the last spot between Nogla and Scotty. He didn’t even bother looking at Nogla or greeting any of us. Instead, he immediately focused on his food and stared off into space.

   I gave Evan a concerned look out of the corner of my eye as he stood. The alpha acknowledged it with a similar expression before he cleared his throat.

   “Alright. Now that everybody is here, I would like to say that this meeting has officially been called into action. You guys know the rules.”

   “Be polite. Be considerate. No one is to be judged in this meeting. Also, there will be no hair pulling, no frowny lips, and no wing flapping.” Brian mused in a half joking tone of voice. Everybody else in the room either smirked or had no reaction.

    “Exactly.” Evan nodded a little. “Especially in a situation like this, these rules will apply at all times.”

   “Ya ya ya. We know what’s going on Evan. What should we discuss first? The fact that the fox has already caused more harm than good or the fact that he shouldn’t be here?” Scotty muttered in a low voice. Down the line, I could hear Marcel let out a low warning growl. “Just saying.”

   Our attention turned back to Evan as he sighed and sat back down on the recliner behind him and assumed the same position he’d been sitting in a moment ago with his elbows resting on his knees.

   “Alright. Since apparently everybody knows about the fox, who wants to go first with their argument?” The alpha asked as he glanced around the room.

   “Evan already knows my argument, but I’ll say it for everyone else to hear.” Tyler started first with an ambivalent expression. “I don’t think we should keep the fox. He’s a danger to us and we don’t have the resources to heal him.”

   Nogla held up a hand before leaning forward with a strange look. “Hold on. For those of us who weren’t there last night, I think it would be best if we know what actually happened.”

   Tyler glanced at him out of the corner his eye and let out a contemplative hum.

   “That’s true. We should recount last night’s events starting from Mini and Tyler. They were the first one to encounter the fox yesterday.” I conceded before turning to Evan. The alpha nodded in agreement.

   “Sounds good to me. Mini. Tyler.”

   The two demons across from me looked at each other, some secret message passing between them. After a moment, Tyler nodded and turned back to face the rest of us.

   “Well, last night me, Mini, Brian, and Moo took a patrol out to check the eastern border. At some point, we started smelling the same stench of blood and infection that we have all encountered in the past few days.” The alpha began.

    “We split into pairs when it seemed that the smell was getting stronger so we could cover more area. Eventually, Mini and I reached the big clearing with the creek running through it just before you hit the eastern border. We were basically following the trail blind because we couldn't pinpoint where the stench came from.

   “When we got to the clearing, we saw this sopping wet pile of fur. Whatever it was had been soaked to the bone from the stream water and it was obvious when we got there that it was the source of the smell we’ve been following these past few days. Mini went closer to it than I did at first.” Tyler told us before glancing over to the beta next to him. Mini made a face but picked up the story anyway.

    “It was dumb. I know it was to get so close, but I was curious, and I went to investigate even though Tyler told me not to. I think I got within about five feet of the body when I heard the wheezing.” Mini stopped and shuttered for a moment.

   “To me, the animal looked like the corpse of a fox, but I realized as I got closer that it wasn’t dead. I tried to get away from it, but something snapped behind me and I got distracted. It was just Tyler coming closer but it scared the crap out of me.”

   “I knew something was wrong with that animal, but I think it might’ve been the sound I made that triggered the fox’s reflexes.” Tyler admitted with a guilty expression. Mini rested his hand on the alpha’s thigh and sighed.

   “Maybe. Don't blame yourself though. We all made mistakes last night.” The beta reassured his companion. Tyler gave him a grateful look but regret still wreathed through his expression as Mini continued.

   “The next thing I knew, my head was being slammed into the ground and something bit into my neck. I kind of blacked out from there.” The beta subconsciously reached up to touch the bandage on the back of his neck.

   Already, I could feel a slight shift in the atmosphere of the living room. Of course, I knew that this part of the story would turn a lot of the pack against me and Evan. All of our pack members were extremely loyal to one another. Years of hardships and trials had solidified our trust in one another.

   The fact that some stranger had come in to our territory and harmed one of our friends should have been something that, in any other circumstance, everybody would have agreed to punish with a vengeance. This time would have to be different though.

   Tyler wrapped an arm around Mini’s shoulders before letting out a small huff.

    “I sort of blacked out as well. Of course, I saw the fox get up and start towards Mini. When I heard him cry out in pain, I rushed to help him. All’s I remember is tearing the fox off Mini’s back and tearing him a new one.” Tyler conceded in a reluctant voice.

   “I believe that’s when I heard you guys fighting.” I added on before turning towards the other half of the room. “Brian and I went as fast as we could to find Tyler and Mini and we tried to help. I dealt a blow that paralyzed the fox and Evan showed up soon after.”

   “So, we know that Mini was bit, but what other wounds were dealt?” Panda asked, leaning forward in his seat.

   Mini sighed before standing with a slight grimace. Behind him, Tyler winced and looked away as the beta pulled up his shirt to reveal a blood stained bandage spanning the length of his left side from his armpit to his hip bone. Several grunts and growls of surprise echoed through the room.

   “It’s not that bad.” Mini tried to reason as he put his shirt back down and sat on the couch once more. The pained grunt he let out told everyone otherwise.

   Tyler got up next and turned his back to the others before pulling his shirt up enough so we could see his back. It was there that we saw several white bandages which varied in shapes and sizes. It was obvious that each of them covered several bite marks and claw marks all along his back and his sides.

   “Most of these are just scratches.” Tyler admitted as he sat down again. “I was panicked and careless. Had I been more focused, I could have ripped that fox apart.”

   For a moment, I stared at the alpha, mildly impressed that he was trying to downplay the events like Mini. Of course he would make an excuse to make the situation seem less dire than it had been. Even I knew that Tyler would want all possibilities to be considered with little to no biases. He was like Evan in that regard.

   “And Brian?” Panda asked, turning to the werecat in between the two of us. Brian shrugged.

   “I got a few scratches, but my fur protected me for the most part.” The werecat hesitated for a moment before glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “He broke my sternum though. It was only hairline fracture and Brock healed it but...”

   “And Brock?” Scotty inquired, his eyes doubtful and filled with uncertainty. I swallowed harshly, my eyes wandering over to Evan. The alpha simply nodded.

   “Puncture wounds to my throat.” I answered, my fingers subconsciously wandering up to run over the scars on my neck. “Luckily, I outsmarted him before he could do permanent damage.”

   “Your fur should have protected you from that.” Marcel mused, his head popping out from down the line. I pursed my lips and nodded.

   “It should have. It protected Brian. The fox knew what he was doing though.” I confessed. “Somehow, he knew how to bypass my fur.”

   “The only way to do that is to rip it out though, isn’t it?” Marcel growled, a challenging glint in his eyes. I frowned and looked away.

   “Why haven’t Mini’s wounds healed yet?” Lui spoke up from his spot on the other side of Nogla. I glanced over at the shapeshifter to see a dark, dubious look in his eyes.

   “I’m not sure. I think it has something to do with the shock.” Craig responded.

   “No beta I’ve ever heard of has not been able to at least close off the bleeding. For whatever reason, you don't even seem to be able to do that. I smell the fresh blood on you.” Lui retorted. Nogla gave him a reprimanding glance which the shapeshifter ignored.

   Almost everyone in the room lifted their noses to scent the air to confirm Lui’s words. By instinct, I did the same and found that, underneath Tyler’s powerful alpha aroma, the scent of Mini’s blood tinged the air. I suddenly realized that Tyler was intentionally trying to overshadow Mini’s scent with his own.

   Each of the pack members let out various uneasy noises as they caught Mini’s scent. To make matters worse, the blood smelled fresh as Lui had already stated. I gazed across the room at the wounded beta with fear and concern as he touched his left side.

   For a moment, the beta hesitated, an expression of fear flitting across his face. Tyler looked down to give Mini a concerned look before reaching over top of the beta and placing his hand on the left side of Mini’s torso. My blood ran cold as Tyler’s face dropped and he immediately stood up.

   Before anybody could say anything, Tyler reached down to grab Mini’s hand and made a motion for the beta to stand. The beta hesitated before allowing himself to be pulled up onto his feet with a slight groan of pain.

   As soon as he stood up, Mini’s face went pale and he almost fell forward. Evan, Brian, and Marcel jumped up immediately to help, but they weren't as fast or as close as Tyler who caught the beta before he went too far and immediately wrapped him up in his arms.

   Marcel and Evan tried to approach the tiger, but both of them stopped as soon as Tyler let out a low protective growl, his eyes glowing a dangerous electric blue. Everyone in the room knew how protective Tyler was of Mini. The alpha side of him was ten times worse though.

   Both Marcel and Evan hesitated, their eyes glowing with their own alpha counterparts as they stared at the beta in Tyler’s arms. Both of them knew by instinct that they couldn't do anything unless Tyler allowed them to. Tyler considered Mini “his”. If they tried helping when he was in alpha mode, he would most likely attack them.

   Mini let out a groan and struggled to put his feet underneath him once more as the alphas above him stared at each other. His face was buried in Tyler’s chest, so I didn't see it, but I would later learn that that was the exact moment Mini found the answer to our question.

  “Tyler stop. Let them help.” The beta grumbled, pressing his hands into Tyler’s chest. The alpha didn’t respond at first until Mini’s hand curled into his shirt. “Tyler.”

   After a moment, Tyler’s eyes flashed and he shook his head before releasing Mini enough for the beta to stand on his own. The beta placed his hand on his side and winced as he was left to hold himself up. The smell of his blood began steadily permeating the air as he stood and turned to give Evan and Marcel reassuring looks.

   "It’s alright. I’ll be fine.” Mini murmured a little breathlessly.

   “Everyone take a ten minute break.” Evan ordered, turning to address the rest of the room. “Cool off, clear your head. Do whatever you need and be back here in ten minutes.”

   Everybody in the room made motions of acknowledgement, their expressions caught between concern and agitation.

   A small frown graced Evan’s face as he turned and carefully slipped an arm under one of Mini’s. Tyler stood on the other side of the beta, the alpha in him still shining in his eyes. Evan gave him a cautious look over Mini’s head but shifted to support the beta’s weight a little better anyway. Mini’s head hung lowly as the two alphas guided him out of the room.

   Brian sighed as they left and sat back down next to me with a distressed expression. I got up to follow the party that had left, but stopped when Marcel placed a hand in front of me. The alpha gazed at me with concern and fear as I turned to look at him.

   “I know you want to keep the fox here, but just look at Mini. Consider his condition when you come back in the next ten minutes… please.” Marcel beseeched me.

   I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I’ll try Marcel. It probably won’t change my opinion though.”

   Marcel’s lips twitched with uncertainty as I looked back at him. For a moment, it seemed that he wanted to say something else. He didn't though.

   Instead, the alpha turned around and walked back to his seat without another word. I watched him sit down, my heart aching for him. Somehow, I felt as though I was betraying his trust by thinking we should keep the fox.

   I turned to Brian with a sense of helplessness. The werecat simply glanced up at me with a small, tired huff.

   “Don’t worry Brock. Go with them.” Brian murmured. I hesitated, my gaze shifting to look at the others around us.

   Everybody in the room seemed tense, and for good reason. The smell of Mini’s blood still filled the air. Even Nogla, whose sense of smell wasn’t all that great compared to the rest of us, looked disturbed at the turn of events. Next to him, Lui’s lips were turned down in a way that conveyed extreme irritation and pain.

   Panda was staring down at the ground, his lips parted ever so slightly which was a nervous tick I knew occurred when he got stressed out. Scotty seemed disturbed as well, his eyes downcast and filled with anxiety.

   No matter who I looked at, no one looked pleased with anything that had happened in the past few days.

   “Go Brock. You’re the only one who can help Craig right now.” Brian spoke up once more as he reached up to tug on my shirt. I shook my head and pulled away from him a little.

   “Maybe you were right.” I muttered under my breath as Brian let go and I was able to walk away.

   A small headache throbbed in my temples as I followed the scent of Mini’s blood to the gaming room. Almost as soon as I turned the corner to enter the room, I ended up running head long into Tyler. Both of us let out our own grunts of surprise.

   “Gods Brock you scared the fuck out of me.” Tyler growled.

   I rose an eyebrow at the alpha and glanced around him to see Evan sitting next to the couch in the middle of the room. The alpha stared at the ground, his eyes wide and his shoulders hunched inwards. In front of him, sat Mini with his back turned to us.

   “Tyler.” The beta groaned, leaning his head over the back of the couch. Tyler looked back at him before nodding to himself.

   “Right.” He muttered as he stepped around me and continued on his way down the hall.

   I turned to watch him leave for a second before making my way to Evan’s side. The alpha barely even moved.

   “Where’s he going?” I inquired as I carefully sat down on the coffee table in front of Mini.

   “He's distracted getting me some water and fresh bandages so I can talk to Evan in private.” Mini answered, his eyes lifting to meet mine. “I figured you'd come as well so you’re fine, but I need to tell Evan something that no one else should know yet.”

   I shook my head and scooted closer to the beta. Evan, on the other hand, stayed perfectly still next to me.

   “What are you talking about Mini?” I asked uncertainly. The beta hesitated before leaning towards us, his voice dropping to a low whisper as he spoke.

   “I already told both of you this morning that I didn't know who attacked my mind last night. I think the pain reminded me though. I suppose it simulated what I felt last night. I remember who did this to me.”

   For a moment, I simply stared at the beta. All morning, the question of who could get into Mini’s thoughts plagued my conscience. It was something that I’d been thinking about without really realizing it and, already, I knew what the next words to come out of Mini’s mouth would be. I knew who it was. I just didn’t want to admit it. The werecat in my head let out a triumphant growl.

   “The fox.” Mini upbraided, his expression turning sour. “It was the fox who attacked me. It was him who placed the reversal spell on me, and it is him who is blocking my healing abilities. He was also the one who gave me the memories that I dreamt of this morning.”

   I stared at the beta with my mouth open as this fact sank in. To hear someone say it outloud and to be so sure of themselves sent the wheels in my head into override.

   Of course, I had been considering the fox’s involvement all day. He was the only one there during the fight that could have put restrictions on Mini’s healing. He was the only other one here in the house that could have experienced the labs. He was the only one that could possibly have the training to launch a powerful mental attack on Mini and, on top of that, he was a beta. It would be easy for him to have weaponized his mind like I had.

   To add to these facts, if the fox had the skills to survive the incapacitation spells around our territory while being half dead, he could easily be powerful enough to force his way into someone’s mind and give them traumatizing memories, especially with someone who’s mental capacities were so limited like Mini’s. That the fox had attacked Mini wasn’t as impossible as I tried to convince myself. It was the only solution that made sense.

   As I looked up at Mini, I could see in his eyes that he knew I’d made the connections and that I believed him.

   “He’s a telepath.” I mused out loud, my heart beating a little faster. The implications of Mini’s new revelation began weighing down on me as I understood why Mini wanted to talk about this with Evan first.

   “Most betas are. You know that better than anyone.” Mini muttered before turning to Evan. I turned to look at the alpha as well and found that his face had gone pale.

   “You must be mistaken.” Evan mumbled uneasily as he stood and turned away from me.

  “I know what I saw Evan.” Mini responded, his hand reaching out to touch Evan’s leg in a comforting gesture.

  The alpha immediately jerked away and walked over to the other side of the coffee table. I got up and sat on the couch next to Mini. The two of us shared a concerned look before looking up at Evan.

   “It’s the only thing that makes sense Evan.” I remarked. “The mental attack, the memories. If me and you didn’t do it, then the only other person who could’ve done all that is the fox.”

   For a moment, Evan stared at the ground. In his eyes, I saw a struggle similar to the one I’d seen in his eyes that morning after he woke up from his mental expenditure. The alpha shook his head and folded his arms before turning back to us.

   “I know.” The alpha whispered, his voice beginning to shake. “I know it was the fox. I know he attacked Mini last night in more ways than one. I know he reversed the incapacitation spell on Mini which is blocking Mini from using his healing abilities. I know he gave those memories to Mini. I know it was him, but all of it happened for good reasons.”

   I stared at the alpha in bafflement, my blood running cold as I considered his words.

   “Good reasons? What the fuck are you talking about? You let him do all of this?” Mini growled uneasily, his eyes glowing as his leopard breathed to life. Gradually, his lips peeled back, a sense of betrayal coating his eyes. “You knew he was blocking me from my healing, basically killing me, and that he gave me the memories, and you didn’t tell me? You lied to me.”

   Evan swallowed harshly and shook his head, his stance widening into a defensive position.

   “No. I didn’t lie to you." The alpha hissed uneasily, his eyes widening in panic. "When I talked to you this morning, I knew nothing. That is the truth. In fact, I would have willingly killed that God forsaken fox where he lay this morning had I not discovered the truth about his actions first."

   I realized with a shudder that Evan’s words explained his actions this morning as well. When he came into my room this morning, Evan had been beyond pissed. Had I touched him, I’m sure he would have snapped at my hands just because he was so angry.

   Now, it made sense. He had been mad at the fox. If that was the case then… maybe whatever mental session he didn’t want to be interrupted this morning had to do with the fox as well.

   I glanced over to Mini with a look of apprehension that the beta returned with similar intensity. I knew then that he was thinking the same thing as me.

   How could Evan have known? Why hadn’t he told us?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Cliff Hangers!
> 
> Like I said last chapter, most of this chapter was supposed to be part of Chapter 11. In order to make this one a full length chapter, I had to add in some miscellaneous stuff which turned into a lot of details while trying to maintain some sort of plot. I'm not sure if it worked, but hopefully I can do better next chapter~
> 
> Since I've last posted, I’ve realized that my idea of the subconscious actually runs along the lines of an Aristocratic philosophy known as the Ego Theory. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically the idea that there can be three separate entities in the mind which make up the “self”. Basically, they boil down to being animalistic instincts and a human’s moral system. In this theory, it is assumed that there are three versions of yourself which make up “you”. The three components are SuperEgo, Ego, and I.D. For those of you that are interested in this, I have a link to an article below that describes it in detail. Basically though, I would say that my version of the subconscious mind isn't too far off. If anything, in my stories, the human half is what is considered the SuperEgo and the demon half is a combination of the Ego and the ID.
> 
> If you guys want more information about it, there's a really good article that explains Ego Theory at this website:
> 
> https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody~ I'm happy to see you guys this week ^^
> 
> Finally! This will be the first chapter since chapter 5 that you guys can see the story from Evan’s perspective. It took me a hot minute to set everything up, but I appreciate your guys’ patience. I know it's been confusing trying to figure out what Evan’s thinking and whatnot, so I want to rewind a little with this chapter so that we can figure out what he thought about the fox and we can explore why he’s seemed so strange lately. This chapter will therefore allude to events from the past few days/chapters, but from a different perspective. Keep in mind that Chapter 6 was only like four days ago for these guys.
> 
> For all my Archive people reading this right now, I know their is no format to anything on this chapter yet, but I have to get to rehearsals in 15 minutes, so! I will take care of formatting tomorrow~
> 
> With that, I’ll leave you guys to it~
> 
> Enjoy!

**Vanoss’ Perspective:**

**The Previous Night**

   It felt like forever. The incessant pacing echoed through my mind for several days and several nights until the night we found the fox. Since the morning Moo and FourZero found the scent of the fox, it actually seemed as though he had picked up his pace. My leopard never stopped a single time during that entire week. He just paced back and forth and back and forth. I didn't understand why.

   Until that night.

   Through the thick tree branches which I hid behind, I gazed down into what was normally a very peaceful clearing. That night though, the Stream Clearing was the furthest example of peace.

   Even though the full moon shone brightly above us, the trees around the clearing cast dark, towering shadows over the battle scarred ground. The rents and divots in the muddy grass marked the efforts of a battle that I'd heard raging from miles away. The defiant roars of my pack members and the seething panic in their minds had attracted me all the way from the house.

In the clearing below me, four felines stood with their hackles raised and their teeth bared. The black and white tiger off to my side wore long bloody scratches and bite marks which stained his white coat a haunting shade of red. His ocean blue eyes challenged the lanky brown werecat who sat next to him with a unique defiance, one that had been used with me several times. The werecat, his dark brown stripes and spots blending in with the shadows of the night, turned with some difficulty to snarl at the tiger.

Between these two stood a ruffled looking leopard whose lustrous golden fur had been tainted by the blood gushing out of his left side and the back of his neck. The leopard snapped his jaws at the tiger and the werecat beside him, each in their own turn. It seemed to me as though he were reprimanding them for something, but I was too distracted by the second werecat across the clearing to pay any attention to whatever argument the three felines were part of.

On the opposite side of the clearing stood a large, muscular werecat. His rust colored fur rose in a trail along his spine as he bared his front two sabre-like fangs at the people across from him.

The thing that attracted my attention the most though was the animal hidden under Moo’s shadow.

The creature looked dead to me. Its body seemed like nothing but four sticks attached to a thin branch. Dark splotches of what I assumed to be blood and mud clung to its pelt and the all too familiar stench of rotting flesh rose up from the animal. To me, the creature seemed more like a skeleton than an actual living person or demon.

Despite these observations, I knew that it was alive. I’m not sure how I knew, but I did. From my vantage point, I couldn't see the animal breathing nor listen to its heartbeat, but I knew with a burning conviction that it was alive.

As my gaze rested on the animal’s narrow face, I felt a profound sense of protectiveness rise within my chest. It was a feeling that I’d never felt with anyone except Moo back when I first met him. Without any prior reasoning whatsoever, I knew by instinct that I would do anything to keep the animal under Moo’s shadow alive.

With a growl, I shifted forward towards the end of the branch I was laying on to hear the people below me better.

“ _Brock, you can’t be serious._ ” The brown werecat, whom I knew to be Brian, murmured lowly with a pleading glance at the rust colored werecat across from him.

My ears pulled back a little as I inferred that Brian had just contradicted Moo somehow. Mini and Tyler both shifted uncomfortably as Brock glared at Brian in bafflement.

“ _You just said we shouldn't kill it. If we leave him here or take him to someone else, he's as good as dead._ ” Brock hissed uneasily.

Confusion coursed through me as I tried to figure out what was happening. My closest guess was that Brock wanted to help the animal next to him. I didn’t know how yet, but I knew from Brock’s words and his defensive position that he was protecting the creature. By nature, he would continue doing so until everyone stopped glaring at the animal in his charge.

Even before I was told of what happened, I knew that the extra animal in the clearing had been at fault for the wounds across my pack members’ pelts. I knew for a fact that my members weren't foolish enough to hurt each other in such extremes. Not even if they were staging a practice fight. The only other person who could’ve done as much damage as I saw littering my pack’s coats was the beaten creature under Moo’s shadow.

I tuned back into the conversation below me just as Brock shook his head.

“ _I don’t care. I’m bringing him home and we can settle it with Evan._ ” The werecat grumbled.

“ _Settle what with me_?” I spoke up, gazing down at Brock.

The werecat started a little and tilted his head up to look through the branches in front of me. His eyes flashed in surprise when he saw me. I lashed my tail a little as I glimpsed the fear and anxiety in my beta’s eyes.

“ _Evan_.” Tyler called to me as he stalked forward to stand almost directly beneath me. I turned my head to look at him, making sure to keep my expression as apathetic as possible as our eyes met.

“ _This fox is the rogue that we've been searching for._ ” The tiger explained before launching into what had brought him and Mini to the fox.

As he spoke, I could see a grim sense of anger towards the fox burning within Tyler’s eyes. It was for this reason that I felt surprised when he suggested taking the fox to a medic outside of the territory.

Based on his eyes alone, I would have assumed that Tyler would want to kill the fox right then and there. Everyone knew how protective he got over Mini. From the corner of my eye, I could still see the leopard’s blood-stained pelt.

Perhaps the tiger would have killed the fox if the canine didn’t seem to be paralyzed on the ground at that moment. Tyler was a big advocate for fighting people fair and square. To kill the fox now, while he was weak, would be dishonorable in Tyler’s eyes no matter how angry he was.

Even behind his anger though, I could see how uneasy the other alpha felt towards the fox. In his eyes, I saw one simple desire to just be out of the fox’s presence.

At some point in Tyler’s speech, I collected my missing pieces of information. From his few sentences alone, I understood that the creature next to Moo was a fox and that he was male. Tyler also confirmed for me what I’d already suspected about the animal. It was the fox who had attacked my pack which explained the hostility I could see in everyone's positions, even in Moo,  who seemed to be protecting the fox while maintaining a cautionary distance from him.

When Tyler spoke to me that night, I understood his reasoning for being against letting the fox stay. I couldn’t bring myself to agree with his idea of giving the fox to someone else though. Even before I began to suspect his significance, I couldn’t get myself to accept the idea that we should get rid of the fox. Despite the heavy copper stench of blood coming from my pack members, I couldn't even bring myself to blame the fox himself for the attack that night.

Yes, the fox had fought my pack members, but there had to be some sort of reasoning, some sort of provocation. Besides that, the only thought that kept going through my head was that I had to keep the fox with me. It was the only way he was going to be safe.

In hindsight, I know it was ridiculous. I didn’t know the fox, nor had I ever met him in my life. There was something about him though, something that made me instinctively more protective of him.

Honestly, it was absurd. I knew I shouldn’t have done defended him without more reasoning then a simple gut feeling. The fox would lead me to where I needed to go though. For that, I no longer regret making my decision to help him that night.

If I think about it, I think Tyler understood what my lack of reaction to this news meant before the others did. Just as much as I was able to understand his thoughts by looking into his eyes, Tyler could do the same with me. I shouldn't have been surprised when I caught the brief look of dismay cross his face as he realized that I’d already made my decision.

For a moment or two, Tyler and I stared at each other, our alphas riding up ever so slightly. Just before the blue in his eyes could increase any more, I turned to face Moo.

The beta shifted ever so slightly, his eyes flickering away from me. I tried to push the alpha in me back under the covers as I asked my beta what he thought about the situation.

As it turned out, Brock seemed to hold a lot of respect for the fox despite the fact that the demon had almost killed him not too long ago. I could see the slightly terrified admiration in his eyes as he met my gaze with a sense of determination.

I had to admit that I was impressed as well by the fox. Personally, I wouldn’t see him fight until months later when it mattered the most. Back then though, I was simply impressed that he was able to get the jump on all four of my pack members even though he was as broken as he was.

The moment Brock finished stating his argument, I remember my mind halting and a sense of unease crawling under my skin as I looked down at the fox. Even from my spot in the tree, I could see the shadows of sunken cheeks and a stomach which looked a deflated balloon.

I’m not sure what triggered it. Maybe it was the idea that this fox had been described as “agile” and… well, a “fox” that made me remember it. Maybe it was just pure coincidence. Sometimes, our brains jump to the strangest conclusion to justify a feeling which we can not explain.

   I felt my heart pick up speed as fear and anxiety lit up my toes. For a split second, I found myself remembering my meeting with Zephyra over two weeks ago. Quietly, I murmured the first words of her parting message out loud.

   “ _Soon I will meet a fox on agile feet_ …”

   It was the only part of Zephyra’s message that came to me at the time. For some reason, I felt as though the fox I was now looking upon was the same one that Zephyra had warned me of. Perhaps what she had said at the end of our strange meeting wasn’t any ordinary message.

It couldn’t be though. There was no such thing as Destiny, or Prophets. There could be no way that the fox pertained to anything that Zephyra had told me. Sure, he was a fox and he had fought well, but that didn’t make him special.

What if I was wrong though?

For the past two weeks, I’d tried to avoid thinking about Zephyra’s mysterious message just before she left. My leopard was more interested in it than I had been. Up until we caught wind of the rogue, who I now knew to be the fox, he had been discreetly revisiting our memory of the meeting with Zephyra.

I didn’t understand why he insisted on reviewing that memory over and over, but I didn’t question it. If anything, I just thought that he was familiarizing himself with what she had told us about our mission.

As this thought crossed my mind, my leopard pressed his thoughts and impressions into me. It was in this manner that he conveyed to me a sense of confusion and apprehension. He didn’t know what was happening either and he didn’t know how to interpret Zephyra’s words just as much as I didn’t know how I was going to make the pack agree to letting the fox stay.

With a frustrated growl, I stood to shake myself before jumping down from the trees in front of Brock. Instinctively, my eyes drifted down to the fox and I observed him uneasily.

   From here, I could now see that his chest was fluttering up and down unevenly. At the moment, his eyes were closed, but he let out small, pitiful whines every once in a while, which meant he was awake.

   “ _As Wildcat said, why should we waste our resources_?” I asked Brock, more distracted then I would like to admit by the fox.

   The beta shifted on his feet next to me. From him, I sensed a familiar uneasiness that I associated with the old days, back when I first met him. Immediately, my gaze shifted to look up at him with concern.

   “ _I believe that these wounds can only be of human design. He’s a refugee… just like I was._ ” Brock confessed, his voice wavering ever so slightly.

A sense of disbelief and sympathy caused my stomach to cramp as I connected the dots between Moo and his protection over the fox. To me, it seemed like the only reason that Moo wanted to help the fox was because he saw a part of himself in the demon.

   As I glanced down at the fox, I could see it. In some horrible way, the fox did remind me of Green Eyes, the werecat I’d found in the labs seven years ago who I later learned was the same person who now stood in front of me.

“ _So, you want us to take in a stranger, who has proved to be dangerous to more than one of our members, and nurse him back to health_.” I suggested, my question being used more for show than anything else.

Subconsciously, I’d already made the decision to keep the fox with us. Questioning Brock’s argument  would probably make it seem like I was giving Tyler’s viewpoint a fair chance, but, although I hated to admit it, I wasn’t. My mind was already made up the moment I’d laid eyes on the fox.

“ _Yes. I will take full responsibility for his care and, in the event that he proves to be harmful... I will handle it._ ” Brock volunteered, his voice only hesitating for a moment.

In his eyes, I could see that he was telling the truth. Next time- if there was a next time- the fox wouldn’t be so lucky as to get his claws into any of us if Brock could help it. Despite this seemingly concrete conviction though, I also saw a split second of doubt coil into Brock’s eyes. The emotions were something that I understood on an intimate level as I felt them within my own heart as well.

“ _As will I_.” Mini suddenly piped up.

Brock turned to him and stared in disbelief at the other beta. I didn’t know what had transpired between the fox and Mini yet, but it seemed to me as though Brock didn’t think Mini would agree to keeping the fox.

With a frown, I glanced over at the leopard, my eyes catching slightly on the pools of blood staining the grass below him. The sight alone should have made me mad. It should have me sick to my stomach. I felt none of these emotions though. Instead, there was nothing but a general distaste for the violence shown on both sides of this conflict.

Brock nodded before turning back to me, a sense of relief in his eyes. I gave him a questioning look, silently asking if he would be okay with Mini’s help. The beta simply shrugged and turned his attention towards Tyler and Brian. I followed his gaze to observe the two.

   Across from us, Brian and Tyler seemed frustrated in equal parts. Brian looked a little ruffled, his chest stuttering occasionally as he breathed. A hint of concern coursed through me as I tried to scent the air for the smell of his blood. I found nothing underneath the miasma of infection coming up from the fox at my feet though.

   “ _What are your thoughts Brian_?” I asked the werecat.

   Brian glared up at me for a moment, his tail flicking towards Tyler irritably.

   “ _T’e little bugger put up a fight. He deserves ta have a fighting chance._ ” He stated with a sideways glare at Tyler. I caught the shift in the tiger’s stance immediately.

   “ _Hey._ ” I called to them before the alpha could turn on Brian and chew him out. Tyler glared at me from the corner of his eye, his lips peeled back ever so slightly. “ _I don’t wanna hear you two fighting again. Understood_?”  

   Brian let out a low huff while Tyler let out a sound closer to a frustrated snarl and continued making a sour face at me. I tried to ignore his eyes boring a hole in the side of my head as I turned my attention back to Brian.

“ _I do agree that we should help him_ ”, Brian continued, “ _but, even if we did try to take him to the house, there’s no guarantee t’at he won’t attack us_.”

I hummed considerably. If someone got into the territory and fell asleep but woke up on our way back out, Mini and Moo had the ability to put them into a coma-like state until we safely escorted them out. The fact that Brian didn’t seem to be thinking of this confused me.

“ _That shouldn't be a problem if we put him under_.” I mused, turning to Brock.

“ _We can’t._ ” The beta replied, his eyes dark with concern. “ _There’s a good chance that he could die if we do that._ ”

A low, vibrating sense of dread swept through my body as I looked down at the fox. For a moment, it felt as though I’d been plunged into a pool of ice water and I couldn’t help but shiver as I caught a new smell coming up from the fox.

I knew we had to help him. If the others weren’t comfortable helping the fox though, I wouldn't be much of a leader to force them into doing it. I didn’t want to lose their trust, but I also had to protect the fox. I had to do something. I had to keep him safe, but he could only be safe with me.

   “ _What’s the likelihood that he survives_?” I asked as I paced around to look at the fox’s head. There, I spotted a thick mane of dried blood coating the demon’s forehead and neck. His front legs looked like overcooked chicken bones, the skin charred by burn marks.

  _“It’s probably a 25-75 chance he survives_.” Mini answered. I tilted my head to the side to hear him better, a small hope that those were good chances rising in me. “ _75% being that he dies. His wounds may be too great for him to live without his demon’s survival instincts_.”

An uneasy growl escaped me as I stared down at my paws. Those definitely weren’t good odds. There had to be something we could do though. Who knew how long the fox had been in the lab he came from, what kind of wounds had been inflicted on him, or how much longer he’d survive.

The fox was dangerous though. If he were to attack someone inside the house, I would never forgive myself. I was a hypocrite for thinking about that only in terms of the house, I know, but the house was everybody’s safe place. It was the one place they could go to for warmth and comfort, hidden from the outside world both literally and metaphorically.

   I shouldn’t have even considered taking the fox back to the house in the first place, but I did. The incessant urge to protect him just wouldn't leave me alone. He was important, but there were logistics to consider. In order to keep him truly safe, I had to get him to the house.

   I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a sigh, my mind racing with so many thoughts that I felt it hard to sort through all of them.

   “ _No matter our decision, we still have to transport him_.” I reasoned.

   From off to my side, I could hear Brian let out a pained cough. I briefly opened my eyes to cast a concerned glance his way as he sat down.

   “ _Tat’s exactly what we were talking about before you showed up_.” He muttered.

   I nodded, a knot of anxiety building in my chest. “ _We might just have to take that chance then_.”

Below us, the fox let out a feeble whine. Immediately, my attention turned towards the demon.

The fox was still laying on his side, where he had been the entire time, but, now, he lay on the ground, writhing in pain. His eyes rolled back into his head and he let out a hiss as agony seized his body. The demon didn’t even seem to notice the five giant felines standing around him. The only thing he knew at that moment was pain and fear.

“ _Tyler_ .” I continued hurriedly, turning to the other alpha once more. “ _Do you have anything else to say about this before I make a decision_?”

Tyler glanced up at me, his eyes filled with doubt. I knew a part of him would be sympathetic to the fox’s obvious suffering, but he was also thinking more logically than I was. For Tyler, I knew he saw some sense in helping the fox, but he also saw the gushing wounds across the pelts of our pack members. That’s something that I sometimes wish I could have considered as well, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get rid of my instinctive need to protect the fox.

   “ _All four of us just witnessed this demon’s strength._ ” Tyler admitted, his voice getting lower and more reluctant as he continued. " _This fox is dangerous. If we let him in, he could easily slaughter the members of our pack single handedly… I just don’t wish for any of us to get hurt._ ”

   I tried to give Tyler a look of gratitude, but he looked away too soon for me to convey just how much I appreciated his opinion. The motion stung me a little but not as much as the obsessive need to _protect_ thrumming through my veins.

   “ _I understand. However, I think we should take a risk_.” I told him, willing my voice to be as sincere as possible. Tyler simply turned his head farther away from me.

   For a moment, I hesitated.

   Was I making the right decision?

   The other day, Lui had mentioned that he felt uneasy about the rogue on our territory, as if everything was going to change soon. I hadn’t felt that at all in the past few days, but I felt it in that moment. For whatever reason, this decision seemed like it would have immense effects on us, as though it could literally change our lives. Everything from this moment on would be different. Everything could change.

The fox needed us though. With anxiety still swirling through my chest, I turned to make eye contact with Brock.

It had to be done. I would try and convince the pack later, but, for now, the fox had to go back with us. He had to stay with me.

“ _You and Mini promised to take responsibility for it_ .” I started, my heart beating a little faster as Brock’s green eyes met mine. “ _I trust that you understand what this entails_.”

The beta in front of me bowed his head a little and, as I straightened to look each person in the eye, I could see a sense of reluctant acceptance in Mini’s eyes as well.

“ _It's decided then. The fox goes back with us. We can figure out rules for his stay tomorrow. Until then, I have three primary conditions for how this will work. One: given the fox survives, he is to stay in comatose until his wounds are fully healed. Two: if and when he wakes up, he is not allowed to see the rest of the house and he is to be watched at every second of every day. We will keep him in the basement until we figure out what else to do, if we get that far. Three…_ ”

   I paused for a moment to consider my next words carefully. There had to be a safety nets, precautions to ensure that the fox would be punished should he decide to attack us again. Even if the next time was an accident, I knew the others wouldn’t accept that as an excuse. They would want drastic measures.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to Brock and fixed him with a firm look.

“ _If the fox wakes up and attacks any of us… you will be the one to kill him immediately afterwards. No questions asked. No second chances._ ”

As soon as the words were spoken, I immediately wanted to take them back. The thought of the fox dying caused extreme unease within my stomach, but I knew that it was the only way I could get the others to start agreeing with me. There had to be safety nets.

In front of me, I could see Brock swallow harshly. He knew how serious I was being more than anyone. If he agreed to this responsibility and didn’t follow through, there would be consequences, not by me, but from the others. Brock understood that and yet I could see his old timid nature appear for a split second as everyone’s eyes turned towards him.

   After a moment of consideration, the beta set his jaw and nodded his head, a look of resolution in his eyes.

   “I accept the responsibility.”

   Just as Brock finished his sentence, a powerful force rushed down upon my conscience with a seething vengeance. I was so focused on the outer world that I didn't sense it in time though. Therefore, it shouldn’t have been a surprise when my attacker shattered all of my defenses and dropped into my mind in a wreath of purple smoke.

   The thick smog spread out, pausing briefly in the face of my snarling leopard, before shrinking back to swirl around a small figure that looked to be about half my size.

It took me a second to be able to see through the purple mist, but, when I did, I saw something that I never would have expected.

Shrouded by purple smoke, his paws hovering a foot off the ground, stood a skinny gray-brown fox similar to the one laying on the ground in the real world. The only differences were that this one had black smudges smeared across his legs, his back, and his cheeks were the other had burns. His skin didn't hug his bones as tightly as the one in the real world either.

   On top of that, he seemed much more alert than the other one, unconstrained by the obvious agony the real fox was currently experiencing. In his eyes, I saw nothing but a fierce yet simple desire to live above all else.

   My leopard let out a thunderous yowl and charged the fox while I crouched down into a defensive position. The fox simply hovered in place, watching my leopard thunder towards him with a sense of dubious inertness.

As soon as he reached him, the leopard launched himself at the apparition, only to disappear and reappear on the other side. The fox’s image became nearly transparent for a moment, the purple smoke around him becoming darker in its place. Then, his image flickered, and the fox became visible once more. This time, he appeared more tired and haggard looking.

My leopard spun to face him again, but paused when the fox nearly dropped out of the air. I stayed where I was, unsure of what to do.

The fox didn't seem hostile. If anything, he just seemed exhausted. After having what little defenses I had around my mind so easily broken though, I knew better then to let my guard down now.

“ _I need to speak_.” The fox mumbled in a heavily accented canine voice. Although he spoke in feline tongues, his words were distorted by his accent and he didn't seem to have the strength to make his words more coherent.

“What are you doing here?” I growled uneasily as I moved towards the front of the fox. The animal's eyes traced my movements with a frown.

My leopard stalked out from behind the fox’s purple cloak, his hackles raised, and his lips peeled back over his fangs. The fox remained hovering in the air, but even floating a foot off the ground didn’t make him much taller than the leopard circling him. My leopard glanced over the fox several times, searching for some sort of weakness as he moved in between us to face the demon.

“ _Why are you here_?” The leopard snarled, his head raising to glower at the fox in front of him. The fox returned the glare with a look of envious resentment.

“ _Protection._ ” The fox responded, his apparition sinking a little closer to the ground.

I grimaced as my already aching body began instinctively trying to shove the fox out of my mind. It took a lot of effort, but little concentration with my skills. Most of the task was on the shoulders of my leopard who also seemed slightly pained by the effort. He was much better at concealing it though.

Even as we both pressed against the fox’s conscience and tried to push him out, the canine didn't seem to notice, although I glimpsed the purple smoke around him shrink ever so slightly.

“Protection from what?” I challenged the apparition, hoping to distract him enough to crush his defenses and push him out. Even though I had no problem with the real world fox, his intrusion on my mind set off a lot of alarms for me.

For a moment, the fox didn’t respond. If anything, he seemed to zone out for a second, his eyes becoming milky, before he came back. My leopard flicked his tail at me. In him, I could sense hesitation as our supposed attacker began failing in strength.

“ _We need protection… We die without it._ ” The fox mumbled once more.

“ _There is nothing we can give you here._ ” My leopard growled before I could say anything else. I tried reprimanding him with a sharp glare, but he ignored me.

The fox bowed his head and sunk ever closer to the ground, pain and sadness appearing in his eyes as we pressed into his conscience even more. For a moment, he glanced at the purple shield around him with a look of mild despair.

“ _Strength… and healing… help_?” The fox suggested, his voice cutting in and out the harder I pressed against his mental shields. Still, the purple smoke remained around him.

“ _You are not supposed to be in here. In our mind. Get out_.” My leopard snarled, his stance widening as he added more pressure on the fox’s mind despite the pain lancing through his own eyes. The demon gazed at him in dismay, the faint smell of fear drifting down from his ghostly apparition.

“ _I know, but we need it. Help. Strength. Please._ ” The fox beseeched us, his eyes getting steadily more desperate as his purple shield of smoke began shrinking more noticeably.

   A twinge of sympathy coursed through me as I recognized the look of a person who wanted nothing more than to survive. It was a look that I remember seeing behind the bars of the cages similar to the one I found Moo in. It was worn by every single victim I met in that horrid place.

   Just from what I’d seen, I knew that the afflictions on the fox were enough to kill any normal person. A cold chill went down my spine as I realized that the fox might not even survive the night. Even the slight scent of fear coming from the fox was haunted by an undercoat of what I now recognized to be the smell of Death, a scent I’d also found frequently throughout the lab.

Before I could say anything else, my leopard puffed out his fur to look ten times his normal size. With a snarl, he lunged at the fox.

   I made a small flick of my wrist as something clicked in my thoughts. My leopard halted with the motion, frozen in place. It was as if a thousand chains had been wrapped around every inch of his body in a single moment.

   “Wait. You keep saying we. Who is we?” I asked dubiously, taking a few steps forward to come up to my leopard’s side. The animal hissed at me but remained immobile despite his efforts to escape.

Across from me, the fox hesitated as I paused my efforts in pushing him out. From this distance, I could see his small milky green eyes a lot better as they flashed with uncertainty.

“Do you understand me?” I asked him, my voice cutting through the momentary silence. The fox flinched a little as my voice boomed through my conscience, but he didn’t respond.

Next to me, my leopard began grinding his molars together to create a horrible scraping sound. The sound grated on my ears in so many unpleasant ways, like fingernails on a chalkboard. I recognized the act as a way to get my attention, which it did. I kept my eyes glued to the fox as I unwrapped the invisible chains from around the feline’s muzzle.

“What do you want?” I demanded. The leopard stretched his mouth open and moved it around experimentally, his jaw popping once and his teeth glittering in the dim light coming from the Data Panel.

   “ _I was trying to say that he doesn't understand you.”_ The feline grumbled with a pointed glare at me _. “Have you forgotten? Only the human part of the mind understands both human and demon speech. Whatever animal languages a person knows can be translated to the demon side but not the human languages. In other words, he doesn’t understand what you’re saying to him because he doesn’t understand any human language without the human half of him_.”

At this, I felt a slight hint of disquietude overcome my mind as I remembered this fact for myself.

Halfway through his talk, I noticed the way that the leopard alluded to the notion that the person we saw in front of us was not the human side of the fox. My leopard noticed my thought process and shrugged before nodding to the fox.

“ _Why do you say ‘we’_?” My leopard asked. Slowly, the fox’s gaze turned towards him, anxiety still evident in his eyes.

“ _Human. Me._ _We._ ” The fox responded in broken feline words, which made less sense the more his strength decreased and he sank towards the ground. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“So, you’re the demon half of the fox?” I inquired. The leopard at my side interpreted the words for the demon across from us, to which the fox nodded.

It was at this point that I realized just how much sense it made for the fox’s demon side to come to me. Not only did he seem stronger than his physical body, he was also the very thing keeping his body alive. I could only assume that his human counterpart hadn’t accompanied him because that in and of itself would have been a suicide mission and the human part of the fox would know that.

The demon side, on the other hand, was the only one who wouldn’t be constrained by the obvious logic that I could kill him right then and there. He was the only side of the fox brave enough and dumb enough to do literally anything for his body to survive. Even my leopard might have done the same. The fact that the fox was willing to tempt death by entering my mind meant that his condition was worse than I’d thought.

   “Right. Well, I understand that you need protection, but surely you just heard us agree to taking you back to our home and healing you. What more do you want from us?” I questioned the canine, my mind already coming up with so many questions for my current situation.

   “Why would you be willing to risk breaking into my mind to ask for anything else? How did you get here in the first place? You’re obviously weak. If I’d been paying attention, you wouldn’t be able to get in here, but I could squash you like a bug right now. So, why are you here?”

   It took a moment for my leopard to translate everything. He tried his best to simplify my words for the fox’s understanding, but the fox still didn’t seem to be able to keep up as we interrogated him. I could see that my leopard was getting increasingly frustrated as he stumbled over his words.

   After a moment, the fox looked between the two of us, made a confused sound in the back of his throat, and shook his head.

   “ _Can’t._ ” He muttered, turning to look at my leopard for a second before returning his gaze to me. “ _Help._ ”

  “ _What more could you possibly need help with_?” My leopard growled, his pelt becoming hotter the more frustrated he got.

   “ _We need Strength._ ” The fox responded, his eyes growing more uncertain as he realized that neither of us knew what he was talking about.

  “ _Strength for what_?” The giant leopard next to me snarled, stalking forward until he was practically nose to nose with the fox. The purple shield surrounding the canine split for a second to avoid touching the feline and it was there that I saw the fox’s face in a clearer light. Part of me wishes I hadn’t seen what I did, but I did.

That small shift in the fox’s shield not only gave me a better look at the black smudges on his cheeks, it also showed me a hole in the middle of the fox’s forehead. This version of the fox had no blood clots in his fur to hide the hole. I felt a sickening sense of dread swirl in my stomach as I glimpsed the tiny pinprick of gray matter under the fox’s skull. Bile rose in my throat as I made the same conclusion as Moo. The fox had to be a refugee from the labs.

   “What happened to you?” I growled uneasily.

   The fox lifted his gaze to look at me for a moment before looking back down at my leopard. There was a good minute where the fox's eyes became milky once more and he took in a stuttering breath.

   Up until this point, the fox had kept floating at least a foot of the ground. As he let his breath out though, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed towards the ground. Immediately, his protective purple bubble of smoke burst outwards before collecting under his paws, his tail, and around the fox's shoulders.

   The fox hung limply from the smoke around him, his tail hovering a half inch off the ground. His paws were so close to the floor under him that he could have simply stretched wrong and ended up in my grasp. In this state, I realized that he was probably about three feet long. His head only reached my chest as he hung from the smoke around him.

It occurred to me as I watched the animal dangle in midair that he was completely exposed. The purple smoke that had been keeping us from attacking him only seemed to be focused on keeping him off the ground at that point.

I could have killed him. I could have destroyed the smoke holding him up and he would be on the ground, in my grasp, where I could tear him a new one. I could have torn him apart for trespassing in my mind. I could have killed his conscience mind and, consequently, the fox himself. I didn't though and neither did my leopard.

My leopard was the one angry with the fox. His instinct told him to kill whatever got into our mind without question. That was his one, indisputable desire no matter how protective we had felt over the fox previous to this. If someone could get into our mind, they could kill us a lot easier than usual. Even though I didn't make a move to kill the fox, my leopard should have been the one to go after him. He had done it a million times before.

He didn’t though. My leopard simply stood over the fox, his chin just above the demon's head.

   Compared to the skinny body of the fox, the feline looked enormous, but his expression was plagued with nothing but concern. He stood a mere six inches from the fox’s limp body, yet he didn’t make a single move to attack the fox like he'd done earlier. For whatever reason, both of us hesitated.

I didn't know it since we were stuck in my mind, but the moment that the fox passed out was the moment that his body went into a self-induced coma. Later, I would learn that the fox almost died in that very instant. His heart had stopped for a few moments, no longer able to pump enough blood to replace what it was losing. The toll that our spells took on the fox was much greater than I ever anticipated, and he almost paid the price that night.

At the time, I didn't know any of this though. The only thing I knew was that I no longer considered the fox a threat in the mental realm along with the physical one. My leopard didn't either.

   From the feline, the only thing I received was a mild sense of protectiveness that he'd only shown when one of the members got hurt. In that moment, my first and only instinct was to make sure the fox was okay.

“ _What happened_?” My leopard asked, his gaze fixed on the fox’s limp, floating figure.

I shook my head. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

My leopard let out a huff and began pacing around the fox. I took a step back to allow him to complete full circles as he checked the fox up and down. The canine was so small that my leopard could almost touch his tail with his nose as he paced around the fox, his fur brushing against my legs every once in a while.

As he made his circles, my leopard’s fur maintained a warmth which bordered between uncomfortable and just right, which was unusual. At any other point in time, the leopard was either up the sun’s ass or putting out a smoldering fire. With the fox though, he continued producing the kind of heat that wouldn’t hurt but could immediately get my attention if I was looking the other direction.

My chest tightened a little as I looked at fox, anxious nerves fluttering through my stomach. The way his body hung down from the smoke reminded me of the empty deer skins I’d seen on the walls of human homes. The hole in his head stared out at me like a third eye.

As I leaned a little closer, I could see that the fox’s eyes were sunken in and pure white for the moment being. The smell of Death still clung to his pelt, its presence seeming to increase for a moment which made my leopard and I extremely uncomfortable.

It took several moments for the fox to wake up again. During that time, my leopard and I continued watching over the empty apparition he’d left in our wake.

Eventually, the demon’s eyes fluttered, and he blinked. His eyes remained white a little longer as he regained consciousness, his presence once more saturating the air around his body.

   As he did so, the fox’s eyes slowly rolled forward until I could once more see the sickly green irises therein. In any other circumstances, the motion would be appalling. To me and the leopard though, it meant that he was alive and that’s all we cared about.

   My leopard circled around to sit on the other side of me, patiently waiting for the fox to come back. Once recognition flooded the canine’s eyes, my leopard stood and leaned forward to sniff the apparition’s pelt. The fox shrunk ever so slightly but allowed the motion, his expression drooping in mild confusion.

“ _What happened to you_?” My leopard asked in a voice so soft that I never would have thought it came from him.

The fox simply stared at him for a second before shaking his head, his eyes flashing with pain. No longer did he have the strength to make coherent words. Instead, I felt a vague impression of gratitude and apprehension coming from the fox.

“Why did you come here?” I asked, my leopard translating my words into his language. The fox looked at the feline for a second before turning his gaze back to me.

Suddenly, a flash of light came from within the demon’s chest. The momentary blindness that resulted afterwards made me jump, my muscles bunching in preparation to fight.

   When I opened my eyes to look at the fox once more though, I saw that he had produced a necklace which hung loosely around his skinny neck. A small brass charm sat on the end of it holding an emerald colored the same milky green shade as the fox’s eyes.

Before I could question it, the canine made a motion towards my leopard. The feline hesitated for a moment before stepping closer to the floating apparition whose head still only came up to my leopard’s chin at this point.

“ _Keep… it... safe._ ” The fox stuttered, every ounce of strength he had poured into his words.

His voice was full of despair as he spoke. The echoes of torture and agony twisted through his face, making the wounds I could see on his body seem much more grotesque. Even the quality of his voice seemed smaller.

   In those few words, I could almost imagine the sense of loss and suffering that the fox had gone through. He sounded so broken, so lost. Had I not been so confused at that moment, I might have cried just by hearing him speak.

As I tried to wrap my head around what was happening, the fox reached up to remove his necklace. Holding it in his paws, he looked up at my leopard expectantly. The feline paused before bowing his head low enough for the fox to reach over his head.

With a motion so unsteady that I thought he might collapse again, the fox leaned forward. The smoke still hovering around his shoulders was the only thing that kept him upright. Gently, without touching him at all, the fox placed the necklace over my leopard’s head and let it fall onto the strong muscular shoulders there.

My leopard and I gazed down at it as we felt a small lull in our strength. For a split second, we both almost tore the necklace off. For all we knew, it could have been laced with an incapacitation spell that could kill us. It was the fox’s presence that stopped us though.

   As soon as the pendant had been placed on my leopard, the fox went unnaturally still. When I turned to look at him, I realized that he was crying, and his eyes looked much duller than before.

   Somehow, I got the sense that the pendant had been very important to the fox. Even though we posed a huge threat to him, he was entrusting it to us.

Back then, I couldn’t have told you why we didn’t take the necklace off right away. In fact, I’m still not entirely sure why we kept the pendant. It stayed with us for several months following that transaction though. That was until the true owner of the necklace came to pick up his gift.

“ _We will keep you safe as long as possible._ ” My leopard mewed, his voice vibrating with conviction. The fox nodded before looking up at me.

I returned the gaze he fixed me with, plagued by an inner sense of turmoil and confusion. In the physical world, the fox had attacked my members. In my mind, the fox had broken through my defenses with ease. Yet, he didn’t harm me when he probably still could have, and, for some frustrating reason, I still felt an unnatural urge to protect him. My leopard felt it too.

   After a moment, the fox’s smoke shield pulsed with brighter shades of purple before swallowing up its owner into a vortex, most likely spiriting him back to his own mind. My leopard and I were left with nothing but an impression of immense gratitude as the fox disappeared.

We stayed like that for a while, staring at the space where the fox had been not moments before. In the subconscious mind, time stretches out infinitely. A second in the real world could be a day in the subconscious. I’m sure that’s why I missed everything after the fox fell into his coma.

I missed the moment the fox closed his eyes and the point in time where everyone panicked because Moo thought that the fox was dead. I missed the spike of anxiety and dismay from Moo’s mind as he searched for the fox’s pulse. I missed the way Moo’s heart stopped in disbelief the moment he found the fox’s heartbeat.

   What I didn’t miss was the way Tyler towered over Brock and the fox, his eyes blown wide with fear and his long fangs bared. I didn’t miss Brian stumbling forward to stop Brock only to trip over his own feet and sprawl out on the ground either or Mini letting out a low hiss, my bond with him vibrating with panic.

“ _He’s in a coma._ ” Brock muttered after a moment, his voice thick with an emotion that I couldn’t quite place.

Everyone received this information differently. For Brian, he seemed to feel a slight bit of relief before he curled in on himself, his breathing becoming more labored. Mini’s eyes held a whole mix of emotions that I wouldn’t understand until the next day.

   Despite his obvious dislike for the fox and his uneasiness towards the demon, Tyler actually seemed slightly concerned about the canine for a second. When it seemed as though he and the others realized what had just transpired, their faces slackened a little.

   “ _Is he going to be alright?”_ Tyler inquired. I shook myself a little to try and disperse the haze over my vision but to no avail as Brock nodded. To me, I felt like the following conversation was just an illusion.

   “ _He put himself into his own coma. He'll be fine. Plus, it's easier this way. Now, me and Mini can work on healing him and no one has to keep putting him under._ ”

I stared at the ground for a good minute, trying to force a dull headache in my temples away by sheer willpower. Needless to say, the method didn't work. My headache continued until the next morning, a constant irritant which worsened my mounting sense of apprehension.

Gradually, my gaze drifted down to look at the fox on the ground in front of us. A cold shiver doused every inch of my skin as I gazed at the animal and took in the sight of his mutilated body once more.

He had visited me. Somehow, this scrawny, half dead fox had wounded four of my pack members and broken all of my mental defenses just to speak to me. All’s he wanted was protection and yet he had felt it necessary to endanger himself to ask for my help.

Off to my side, I felt a pair of eyes warming the side of my face. I turned my head slowly to look at Brock, confusion and uncertainty making my heart flutter as I met his green eyes. The color reminded me a lot of the fox and I found myself remembering the first time I’d met Brock. His eyes had been the same dead, hopeless shade of green back then too.

The werecat next to me looked disturbed by something. Somehow, I got the sense that he was regretting his decision to help me, but there was something deeper than that in his gaze.

“ _Did you feel that too_?” I asked Brock, tilting my head to the side. I wasn’t sure what part I was referring to. Maybe a part of me was hoping that he had been visited by the fox too and another part of me simply wanted to know that I wasn’t alone in this.

Brock hesitated, fear and confusion swirling in his green eyes. “ _What? The fear that he died_?”

I shook my head, desperation rising in my chest. “ _No. Before that._ ”

Brock shifted uncomfortably and looked away. “ _You mean the gratitude.”_

I frowned and shrunk away from him. Personally, I had felt the gratitude as well, so it wouldn’t have surprised me if the fox had tried to thank Moo but couldn’t get past his defenses. The werecat was much more skilled than anyone I knew at keeping people out of his head.

Despite the fact that Brock had felt the fox, I realized that he probably hadn’t been visited like I had because of his mental defenses. He hadn’t felt what I felt, nor had he seen what I’d seen. He had no clue what was going through my head.

“ _That too I guess_.” I responded as I paced around the newly fainted fox.

Just as before, I noticed several bloody flaws carved into what seemed like every inch of the fox’s body. His front legs were broken and charred, his body seemed more skeleton than flesh, and the mane of blood around the fox’s neck now made sense after seeing what was underneath.

Even as Brock helped me load the fox onto my back and I carried him home, I was uncannily aware of the fact that the fox could die at any moment. He could die, or we could hurt him while putting him on my back. He could die on the trek back home. He could die as soon as we got to the house. As soon as Brock and Mini stopped the bleeding, as soon as he was safe and warm for the first time in what I figured was a very long time, he could die. Or he could die two weeks from now, after we’d tried our hardest to save him.

No matter what, my thoughts kept circling around the fact that, if he died, I would have been the last one to talk to him. I would have to explain to whoever came to find him or whatever family he had that I couldn’t save him. I would have to explain that he had entrusted me with his safety, and I had failed him. The thought made me sick to my stomach.

Brock was on my side when it came to the fox. He had agreed to help. Therefore, I knew he cared.

Despite this, I had never been aware of just how lonely I was. Even as we walked back, I could feel it. Nobody knew about the transaction between me and the fox. Besides, they’d probably be mad at me for the letting the fox into my mind anyway. I already knew that most of the pack would be against keeping the fox after tonight.

These thoughts played on repeat in my head as we walked through the forest. I barely noticed Mini and Moo conversing in low voices behind me. I was also so preoccupied with my thoughts that I barely remembered hearing Moo say something about Mini not being able to heal himself.

What really drove my sense of loneliness home was the way Scotty treated me. Since our earlier days as a group- not a pack, but just a group- Scotty had been compliant with most anything I did. Last night, he had showed me more defiance then I’d ever seen in him though.

Marcel was obviously displeased by the person I brought home and Nogla was Nogla. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. The only thing I knew for certain was that Nogla knew way more about all of this than I did.

   As for Lui and Panda, I wouldn’t know what they thought until the next morning.

I did get a second mouthful of irritation from Tyler the moment we were alone that night though. We had just deposited the fox on a pile of blankets downstairs and were gathering more when he finally spoke up.

“You’re an idiot.” That was the first thing the tiger said to me just as I set down some blankets between the couch and the coffee table.

Before we even reached the bottom of the stairs, I had felt despair clouding my senses. Therefore, when Tyler said that to me, I had no response.

   Instead, I just stood there, my shoulders drooped and my mouth still partially open from the blankets I’d had in my mouth two seconds before.

   I hate to admit it, but a part of me reverted back to the old me that night. Before I had my pack, before I met any of the guys, I was an empty husk of a person, devoid of most all emotions and remorse. Traveling alone, with no friends, no memories, no family whatsoever, and a dangerous power lurking beneath my skin was terrifying. So, I simply pushed my emotions so far down that they never escaped. The first time I’d ever let my emotions come up again was when I met Brock.

Between all of the events that night, between feeling utterly alone and the reminder that the labs were horrible places, all of these old memories  were ripped open, the aftershock leaving me shaken. It was because of this that the feeling of Tyler’s instant regret in his mind caused me to shrink away from him.

“I’m sorry Evan. I just mean that this is going to cause a lot of problems.” Tyler apologized, his voice coming closer to me.

I turned away from him, my throat constricting when he reached out to place a hand on my shoulder. Despair gave way to frustration as I dug my claws into the blankets under my paws.

“ _You don’t think I know that_?” I hissed, my breath catching a little on the last word of my sentence. Tyler noticed of course, his demeanor losing a lot of its previous alpha air to be replaced by concern.

   “Evan.” The tiger murmured, only to be interrupted by the sound of heavy paws coming down the stairs.

I turned and left the room to find more blankets and pillows, leaving Brian to feel guilty for interrupting the conversation between Tyler and I. Tyler’s eyes followed me all the way down the hall and they continued following me until he and Brian went back upstairs a little while afterwards.

I’m not sure what came over me. Maybe it was the simple fact that I trusted Brock more than the others. He had been the first person that I’d grown attached to, or it was the fact that I knew he understood me. I was sure when Brock walked away that night that he’d taken note of my talk about Prophecies and Destiny and Fate though.

Despite my efforts to push the thoughts away, I kept thinking that the fox had something to do with the message that Zephyra had given me.

   At the time, I was angry with myself for considering Zephyra’s words to be some sort of prophecy though. I found it to be irrational and illogical to do so, but I couldn’t deny that her words had held weight to them and she had specifically told me that the message was meant for my ears only.

These thoughts were what urged me to lay my head in Brock’s lap and douse my nose in his beta pheromones. Brock didn’t have the smell I was looking for, but his scent calmed me down enough to keep me cool for a little while at least.

By the time Brock left and I was able to lay down on the couch, I was exhausted. I hadn’t slept in three days. The night before Moo and FourZero found the scent of the fox, I hadn’t slept. The leopard’s pacing had kept me up, which was why I’d resorted to playing my music that morning.

In all the times that I’ve woken up to my hands and feet burning through bed sheets, I’ve never been awake when my leopard had one of his episodes. Never before had he lit himself on fire while in our waking hours. Yet, that morning, he did.

The morning Moo found me playing my problems away on my guitar, I’d burned hotter than I’ve ever burned in all the times previous. My hands and feet felt like they were on fire. It wasn't the usual fire that could be woken with blood though. It was an inconsolable fire, one that raged in my heart with so much vivacity that I thought I would explode. I had to drench myself in ice cold river water to get rid of the heat crawling under my pelt.

   The worst part was that both Brian and Moo had almost witnessed it. They'd almost seen me lose my mind... again.

   Since then, I’d been afraid to fall asleep. If I didn’t catch it in time, I could very well set the whole house on fire. That couldn’t happen.

So, I stayed awake, paranoia turning out to be a good repellent for exhaustion. Even as I watched over the fox, I stayed partially awake, not only because it was my obligation to do so as that night’s guard, but also because I was afraid of my leopard engulfing himself in flames again.

Therefore, I laid there, resting but never quite asleep on the couch for the rest of the night.

In my mind, my leopard sat, staring at the necklace around his neck for long periods of time. Throughout the night, he would balance the charm on the end of it in one giant paw and simply stare at the emerald within. He seemed just as confounded by it as I was.

At some point during the night, we pretty much gave up on trying to keep a paw in both the real world and the mental one. In exchange, we decided to stay in our subconscious to observe the necklace.

It was during this observation that we realized that the pendant seemed to hold its own heartbeat, a steady drumming which was mostly uninterrupted throughout the night.

We considered many explanations for the necklace. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that the necklace was a way for us to keep in contact with the fox himself. The demon’s thoughts vibrated with a dull warmth under the small brass piece encompassing the emerald within the charm.

   Through it, I could feel a lot of the impressions the fox had throughout the night. Mostly, his focus pertained to keeping a steady heartbeat, but there were the occasional flickers of thoughts deeper than that during the night.

   Once again, I considered why we were doing this. It wasn’t just about keeping the necklace but protecting the fox against the wrath of our pack members as well. I didn’t understand the sense of protectiveness that rushed over me every time I thought about the demon in our care. My leopard was in the same predicament.

We both knew he was important, but why?

**Earlier the morning of last chapter**

   “Nothing. Nothing but purple smoke.”

As soon as the words were spoken, I felt my mind grow hot. Beneath my skin, the leopard’s heat burned dangerously as both of us realized what Mini’s words implied.

I should have known what had happened to Mini that night. I should’ve realized just how badly Mini’s condition was and I should’ve put a stop to it before he woke up that morning, his mind screaming for help. The moment he started talking to me about his dream, I should have been able to connect the dots, but I just didn’t want to consider it.

No matter how hard I tried to deny it, I knew Mini was right... The purple smoke. In some frustrating way, it made sense.

Looking back on the situation now, I realize that I underestimated the fox greatly.

If he was strong enough to enter my mind and still shield himself in my presence, then what would stop him from attacking Mini?

So far, the fox had continued fighting all the odds. He’d proved himself formidable the moment he stepped foot in our territory. We didn’t know how long he’d stayed in the wilderness with rotting wounds and Death hanging over him like a starved vulture. Based on his smell alone, I knew that he’d probably been in that state for weeks and, even though our spells should have stopped him from healing himself, he continued fighting.

   For days, he’d resisted the spells around our borders that were meant to kill him if he didn’t give up. Then, even after all of that, he’d been able to fight four full grown felines who obviously outweighed and outmatched him.

   All of this proved that he was much stronger and more resilient than I thought. I was so blindsided by my urge to protect him though that I didn’t want to consider it. Not until that morning.

By the time Mini saw the possibility of the attack and the memories being done by the fox, I was already beginning to make the connections.

That morning, I could feel the difference in my bond with Mini, which was tenuous at best. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t catch the increase of his heart rate or the sudden influx of panic coming from him when the visions started.

Of course, I eventually sensed that something was wrong with the beta, but it took me a while to understand why the alarms were going off. Even after I spoke to him that morning at the juncture between our minds, Mini’s thoughts were so quiet that I almost had to stare internally at his threads for several minutes before anything made a move. It was like trying to watch a fly breath compared to the usual roar of an elephant sleeping.

That’s what freaked me out the most.

Ever since I first claimed Moo as a part of my pack, and, eventually, the others as well, I kept close tabs on their mental state. Any emotion they felt left an impression on me and every time they felt pain or had a sudden increase in heart rate, I was able to feel it.

That morning though, I was barely able to sense any of this from Mini. Somehow, in some way, his connection to me had been dampened and that could only have been done by an outside force getting into his mind. His attacker was the only who could have done such a thing. I’m almost positive that’s the reason I reacted the way I did upon learning about the purple smoke.

Moo and I were the only ones who could show vivid memories and visions of the labs to Mini _unless_ someone else broke into his mind.

I knew Moo wouldn’t share his memories of the labs with Mini. He loathed the place so much that I hadn’t caught so much as a whiff of those memories for many years. If anything, I think he buried them so far under his thoughts that not even I could’ve accessed them. Over the years, Brock had learned how to keep them completely suppressed from his subconscious. Not even in his nightmares did he revisit his memories in the lab. That’s how far he buried them.

It was possible that the fox could have triggered some memories to flash through Brock’s eyes. In fact, when he and FourZero found the scent of the fox on the first day, I had sensed a slight twinge from that part of Brock’s mind. It wasn’t enough to make Mini panic as badly as he did though and, besides, Brock kept to himself. He never wandered outside of his mind. His involvement was completely out of the question.

I knew for a fact that I hadn’t shared any memories with Mini. My leopard and I had been busy staring at the emerald necklace in our presence for most of the night.

All this left one explanation and it was an explanation which wouldn’t have been so bad if the connection between me and Mini wasn’t already so flawed.

I remember thinking about just how much it made sense. There was a slight chance for Brock and I to share our memories of the lab with him, but the deliberate attack on Mini’s mind wouldn’t have been done by either of us. We wouldn’t attack one of our own so violently.

Whoever attacked Mini’s mind had been fighting for their life and there were only two people in the clearing that night, before I showed up, that were known to have mental capabilities. Why I hadn't considered it sooner was probably due to my unreasonable loyalty to the fox.

Of course it was him. It was the fox who had attacked Mini’s mind and it was mostly likely the fox who had shared his memories with Mini. I didn’t understand why he would show Mini such horrible things, but I was going to find out.

“I’ll take care of it.” I hissed, my blood boiling under my skin.

As if in response to my anger, a loud thwap resounded from deep within my mind. The sound was followed up by a large pressure throwing itself across me. Immediately, I dampened the heat I could feel rolling off my physical body and stood to look back into my mind.

“Wake up ye lazy bum.” An accented voice shouted from the Data Panel far in the depths of my conscience.

I frowned. I wanted to tell Mini what I’d discovered and hopefully save him some pain, but, the more I considered the fox’s involvement, the angrier I got, which was dangerous for both Mini and Nogla. If my leopard started a fit while I was still in contact with Mini’s mind, well… I didn’t know what would happen but I didn’t want to find out.

As for Nogla, I knew what would happen to him. If my leopard went into a fit and he touched me, I could end up burning him on accident. I’d never burned someone before, but I knew it was possible.

My revelation of the attack being done by the fox therefore would have to wait. Plus, part of me wanted to wait to talk to the fox first and allow him a chance to explain himself before I considered taking drastic measures.

“Nogla’s trying to wake me up. I should go before he tries jumping on me… again. We'll talk about this more later.” I huffed irritably, turning to Mini.

The beta nodded, his frown deepening ever so slightly. “Yeah. We'll have to.”

For a moment, I hesitated.

Part of me wanted to apologize to Mini because I hadn’t realized what was wrong with him sooner. The smell of his blood still drifted towards me from his mind in a suffocating miasma which definitely wasn’t natural for any normal person. On top of that, his mind still echoed with the lingering effects of trauma that he’d never experienced.

I wanted to stay. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry. Sorry for not considering the damage that the fox had done. Sorry for not checking up on him after last night or waking him that morning, before the dreams started. Maybe if I had, he wouldn’t have been in so much mental and physical pain.

None of my apologies would matter if I didn’t start investigating the source of Mini’s problems though. So, with a reluctance which built up in the middle of my chest the further I got from him, I left Mini alone on the chasmic abyss between our minds and returned home to my own conscience.

My leopard slipped away as we reached the very center of my mind and, for a moment, I noticed regret underlying the overarching anger boiling beneath his fur. Briefly, our eyes turned to the pendant hanging around his neck.

We both asked ourselves the same questions as we gazed down at it.

Why did the attack on Mini’s mind bother us more than the physical wounds made on several of our pack members? Was it the low sense of betrayal we felt or the sickening feeling that we had been tricked and, in the process, put our pack in danger?

How could someone who’d been hanging limp in our mind, practically fresh meat on a hook, be so dangerous and why was our first instinct to ask him “why” instead of “how would you like to die for what you’ve done”?

My leopard and I considered these thoughts with the same wave of trepidation as we returned to the real world.

“Hey. Wake up asshole.” The same deep, accented voice from earlier grumbled. Immediately, I recognized the familiar cologne that drifted up over my side.

“ _What do you want Nogla_?” I muttered, opening my eyes to stare at the back of the brown couch I was laying on.

Around me, the air seemed clogged and gray. Outside, I could hear the light specks of rain water splattering across the grass as they dropped down from our roof.

“I want ya to wake up so you can help me.” Nogla quipped, his voice sounding slightly strained. I rolled over to face him, my legs draping over the edge of the couch as I did so.

In front of me, Nogla crouched down in between the couch and the glass table with his wings hovering awkwardly on either side of the mound of blankets and pillows in front of him. I knew from prior knowledge that he was looking down at the fox on the mound, but his giant wings kept me from seeing the demon himself.

“ _What are you doin’_?” I groaned, sitting up on the couch to try and see what he was doing. My eyes narrowed towards what little blankets I could see under Nogla’s wings as he shifted them.

Part of me wanted to tell Nogla to be careful, but the fox felt subdued. Perhaps he hadn’t been when Mini and Tyler found him last night, but I knew he was now. I could feel the slow sludge of his life's blood drudging through the pendant around my leopard’s neck. The only impression I got from him was an immense concentration on simply maintaining his heartbeat.

Honestly, there wasn’t any other reason for any thoughts to pass through the emerald. The fox’s only concern right now was staying alive and he had duped me into giving him a safe place to do just that.

“We need to get him cleaned up for Moo and Mini.” Nogla reasoned, his tone of voice making it seem as though he assumed I’d already made the same conclusion.

At any other time, I would have agreed and gotten up immediately, but my thoughts at that moment were plagued with one question.

Did I still want the fox to stay knowing what I knew now?

I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand why I felt so betrayed as I gazed over at the mound of blankets peaking out from under white feathers. I didn’t know the fox, and he didn’t know me. Yet, when he'd attacked my pack members and scored his claws through their pelts the previous night, I defended him. I defended someone who tried to kill my family.

No matter how hard I fought and scratched at the urge to _protect_ though, I couldn’t get myself to even fully consider getting rid of the fox. I still felt angry, and I was going to ask the fox a lot of questions when I spoke to him next, but I couldn’t… I just couldn’t. He had hurt my family in more ways than one, but I…

He had to stay with me. That was the only way I could keep him safe. He would be the key to everything.

With an exhausted groan, I drug myself off the couch, my hind legs remaining on the couch for a moment as I stretched. A mild headache in between my eyes made itself known as I squeezed my eyes shut. Once all my feet were on the ground, I took a moment to stretch the rest of the muscles in my body and briefly shake myself awake.

As I stalked towards the winged creature, Nogla looked up, the cord of the headphones currently in his ears swinging side to side.

   “Dude, ya look like shite.” He remarked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

   I glared halfheartedly at him. “ _Thanks man. I needed the confidence booster_.”

   Before I could round the edge of Nogla’s wing to look at the fox, he shifted to make a small barrier between me and the mound of blankets on the other side of his wing. I paused as the urge to get to the fox, to _protect_ him, rushed through my veins and it took a great amount of effort for me to push the feeling back down.

   As I looked up at Nogla in question, the demon simply shrugged, an apologetic look in his eyes.

   “Sorry Ev. I’m not letting ya help me until ya get at least a good ten minute nap.”

 “ _That’s bullshit. Let me see_.” I growled, diving under the wing to try and lift it.

   As soon as I got my head under the massive appendage, I felt my nose brush the blankets on the other side. Before I could lift my head, the weight on the back of my neck increased tenfold. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that there was a solid brick pressing me into the ground and not just muscles and feathers. Not for the first time, I was impressed by the power I could feel in Nogla’s wings.

“ _I yield_!” I hissed, my voice muffled by the blankets pushed up against my nose. Above me, I could hear Nogla chuckle before the weight was taken off my neck and I was able to sit up again.

“Good, cause I wasn’t gonna let up. If ya won’t go to sleep on your own, I'll gladly put ya back under.” Nogla responded with a small smile as I gave him a challenging glare.

   “ _You woke me up cause you needed help though_.” I protested incredulously.

   “Well, ya also need to get some sleep and, let's be honest, you weren’t asleep when I got yer attention.” Nogla noted, his expression unreadable even as I stared at him in confusion. “Go get Brian or Moo and they can help me.”

   For a moment, I had to resist the urge to question him. It wouldn’t do me any good to ask him how he knew what he did. Nogla was mysterious in many ways. It always seemed to me that he knew more than he should and yet he never had an explanation for it. Any time we questioned it, he would simply shrug and continue with what he was doing, just as he was now.

   I sighed heavily, pushing down my unease and shaking my head, the motion making me wince as pain flared up in between my eyes. Mentally, I reminded myself to get some pain relievers for the growing headache.

   “ _Fine. I’ll send Brian down to help you._ ” I cast the remark over my shoulder as I walked around the glass coffee table and made my way towards the stairs. Nogla’s eyes followed me until my tail disappeared from his line of sight.

   On soft, padded feet, I made my way upstairs to Moo’s room where I could feel Brian’s mind dozing in and out of sleep. I was sure that my feet were still fairly warm, so I had to use my muzzle to open the door to Moo’s room in order to avoid heating up the metal handle.

   When I got there, I found Brock sleeping on his bed with his boyfriend encompassed in his arms on the other side of him. The sight should have been heartwarming. Instead, it made me feel somewhere between uncomfortable and irritated, a feeling that was not welcome at that particular point in time. The sensation continued as I circled around to the end of the bed.

   With a small groan, I crawled halfway up onto the blankets and began head butting Brian’s feet. He almost kicked me in the face once but got up to glare at me after another minute of me roughly hitting his toes. Recognition flooded through his eyes as he glanced down at me before flopping back down on the bed.

   “The fook Evan.” The werecat grumbled, his eyes scrunched shut as he blindly searched for his phone and turned it on. Immediately, his face turned sour and he glared down at me through squinted eyes. “It’s almost 9 in the morning asshole. The least ye could do is let me get some beauty sleep after last night’s fiasco.”

   “ _T_ _oo bad_.” I muttered, the headache between my eyes increasing a little more as I caught the scent of Brian’s irritation.

   “What do you need?” Brian growled, reluctantly relieving himself of Brock’s arm and sitting up.

   “ _Nogla needs your help downstairs._ ” I responded, a ball of nerves in my chest simply adding to the headache I was already experiencing.

   “Fuckin’ dick.” Brian hissed before leaning forward and crawling towards on me on unsteady hands. He didn’t risk crawling over Brock and I got a sense that he didn’t feel it necessary to wake his boyfriend. Part of me agreed but, in the back of my mind, I knew that I would wake Brock eventually.

   I moved away from the end of the bed and sat myself near the nightstand next to Brock’s head as Brian escaped the blankets wrapped around his waist. Carefully, he turned back to fold the blankets back up before standing.

   Without a word, the werecat stretched, scratched his chin, and left the room. I watched him go and considered following him, but stopped myself when I heard the door to his own room open and close. He’d be back.

   I don’t know why I didn’t notice the smell coming in from the hallway. In theory, it should have been extremely noticeable to me considering I’d talked to Mini not but a few minutes ago. For whatever reason though, I didn’t catch the smell of Mini’s blood when I came upstairs, and I didn’t notice it after Brian left the door open to go to his room.

   As I sat waiting for Brian to come back, I felt something tingling in the back of my mind. Just like with Mini’s nightmares earlier that morning though, it took me several moments to understand what the small signal was.

Immediately, I folded into myself and looked sideways at my leopard. The animal sat next to me, his gaze fixed on the green emerald hanging in the middle of his chest.

Unlike before, the emerald glowed a bright, alluring color and I could sense the echo of coherent thoughts drifting through the gem. Suddenly, it seemed as though the necklace was a living, breathing thing instead of an inanimate machine fixated on maintaining a steady breathing pattern.

 _He’s awake_. My leopard mused, his observation quiet but infused with so many conflicted emotions. In him, I could still sense a broiling anger towards the fox, but I also saw the fascination in his eyes as he stared into the swirling patterns glowing within the emerald around his neck.

After several moments, Brian’s door opened again, and my attention turned back to the real world as he entered Brock’s room. The first thing I noticed was that his face had gone pale as he glanced down the hallway.

“ _What took you so long_?” I tried to joke, the humor in my voice coming out a little forced. Brian glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, an uneasy expression on his face.

“I was gonna go to the bathroom but…” The werecat mumbled before furrowing his eyebrows. “Mini and Tyler were in there.”

I frowned, my nerves lighting up as Brian continued staring at the ground with that same concerned expression. “ _What’s wrong Brian_?”

The werecat shook his head, his eyes drifting up to meet mine. “I don’t think Craig’s doing too well Evan. The smell of his blood is all over in the hallway.”

With a low, nervous growl, I automatically got up and trotted towards the door to poke my head out into the hallway. As Brian had said, the smell of Mini’s blood laced the air with almost as much potency as it had had when I’d visited him not but ten minutes ago in his mind.

“You should probably check on them.” Brian suggested in a low voice. I turned to him to find a sympathetic expression on his face. “In the meantime, I’m gonna go see what Nogla wants.”

I nodded slowly, a small amount of bile rising in my throat as I practically choked on the stench of blood.

After a moment, Brian brushed past me and left to go downstairs. Just as the top of his torso began disappearing down the steps, the door to the bathroom down the hall swung open and Tyler appeared with Mini on his back.

The smell of Mini’s blood didn’t increase like I was expecting it to, but it didn’t disappear either as the two walked down the hall to Mini’s room and vanished once more. Neither of the demons noticed my presence. If anything, I think Tyler was too focused on getting Mini to safety and Mini just seemed to be out of it altogether.

A sense of urgency coursed through me as I considered what had just happened. If Tyler had to carry Mini, that wasn’t a good sign. We had to do something.

My first instinct was to lay siege to the fox’s mind or to destroy the pendant in order to help Mini. As soon as either of these thoughts crossed my mind though, I found myself striking them down. I couldn’t hurt the fox. No matter how much I denied it, my inclination to protect the fox overruled the urge I received to destroy him for messing with my pack.

   I had to talk to the fox.

   To be honest, I wasn't sure if I could actually talk to him or if he could respond or if he even had the strength to respond after last night. Even as I sat there, contemplating my next course of action, I could feel the powerful thrum in the pendant begin to fade ever so slightly.

   There would only be a limited window where I might be able to talk to the fox without him passing out like he did last night. If I did meet him, I would have to be quick and I couldn’t be interrupted- like I had been with Mini- before we talked about the important stuff. In that case, I needed someone to watch over me, to make sure I stayed asleep and no one woke me up.

   The only person who I could trust with such an endeavor was Brock. He was the only one who would at least agree to protect my body with limited questioning, which worked because I had no time to explain everything to him.

   After taking a minute to set up how I was going to convince Brock to help me, I finally got up the courage to wake up him. As I started telling him about my plan though, I could feel how confused he was, which was understandable. The beta hated being kept in the dark and, normally, I would reveal everything to him in a heartbeat, no matter how controversial it was. He was my second in command, one of the few people I would trust with my life.

   I had to keep reminding myself that my window of time was closing though. As the minutes ticked by, I could feel the surge in the fox’s thoughts decrease even more. There would only be a certain amount of time that could allow us to speak and I had to reach it as fast as possible. If I were to be interrupted, it could be several days before I had a chance to talk to him again.

   Somehow, I convinced Moo to watch over my body while I visited the fox without taking up too much time. I barely noticed the already lit vanilla scented candles in my room when we entered. For whatever reason, it seemed like they were always lit whenever I was upset. I’d stopped noticing this small fact years ago though.

   For me, meditation was hard for the first few moments. Sure, I knew Brock was on the other side of my eyelids, watching over me. Physically, I felt my body relax as his beta pheromones draped themselves around me, the scent laced with the vanilla aroma from my candles.

   Despite this, Brock’s presence made me more nervous than it normally would. In my mind, I could feel the quiet but constant thrum of confusion coming from the beta and I felt guilty for keeping him in the dark. I promised myself to tell him what I found out when I woke up, but even that didn’t calm me down.

   There were several moments as I meditated where I was afraid that my mind wouldn’t be calm enough to enter the state that I needed to be in to find the fox’s mind in the first place.

   When it came to Mini, I’d been able to search out his mind and talk to him simply because of my instinct to do so and my limited but ever present bond with him. Plus, I didn't have to worry about protecting my mind with Mini. It would have to be different with the fox though.

   I knew from simple intuition that the fox would make his mind as small and undetectable as possible. That's what I would do in his situation anyway. It would be hard to find him and, once I did, there was a possibility of him attacking me.

   I had to remain as impassive as possible if I wanted to avoid a fight when I started questioning him. The fox was still a stranger no matter what instincts I had to protect him and he most likely would not be happy with me visiting his mind. Sure, he’d entrusted me with the necklace, but that was for pure survival.

   I’m still not entirely sure why I felt so inclined to trust the fox. With any other stranger, I would have regarded them with a bitter sense of sarcasm and a cold shoulder. Maybe with them I would have actually considered them enemies instead of helpless children who were obviously more capable of protecting themselves than I portrayed them to be.

   With these thoughts rolling through my head, it took me several minutes to get into a state that I felt would be centered enough to talk to the fox. The only problem was that I could still feel my pack members all around me.

   I could feel the soft beat of Panda’s heart as he slept through the morning and the sense of guilt and betrayal coming from Scotty. I could feel Lui’s mind brooding as he sat in his room and Nogla and Brian seemed fixated on some task at hand. Marcel seemed more frustrated than usual, but, most of all, I felt uncannily aware of Brock’s mind racing through hundreds of thoughts that would have sent any normal person stumbling across the ground.

   All of these feelings distracted me from honing in on the impassive expression I was trying to go for. So, I reluctantly retracted myself from the minds of my pack members. Even though Moo’s dismay was tangible as he felt me retreat, I still did it with a deep sense of regret and loathing. I had to remind myself that I couldn’t be distracted.

   With another deep breath, I reached far into my heart, into the abyss of thoughts outside of my mind, and into the swirling lake of nothingness beyond.

   For a while, my leopard and I searched for the fox as two separate entities. However, the further we got from our mind, the more the leopard’s thoughts sank into mine, and he no longer held a separate body that I could see. Instead, it was as though we were in the real world, walking around in one human body.

   It took several minutes for me to find the fox. During my search, I was surrounded by a gray abyss in almost all directions. The feeling was oppressive and made me feel mildly claustrophobic, but I continued nonetheless.

   Eventually, I came across what I saw as a small purple orb shrouded in smoke. I recognized the feeling of this mind against mine immediately and approached it with apprehension.

   As I advanced towards the orb, I realized that there was a figure waiting on the other side of the purple mist surrounding it. At first, I thought it was the fox himself, at least the one I’d met last night, just based on its size alone.

   The closer I got though, the more I began to realize that it was a human on the other side of the barrier, not the fox. The only reason I’d thought differently was because his head only came up to my waist. Beyond the mist, I couldn’t discern anything but a gray blob of shadows among the purple, but I could tell by the shape of his wide shoulders and his head that it was a human I saw.

   The person seemed as though he were sitting on some sort of invisible floor. His head looked as though it were turned towards something in what I assumed was his lap. Curiosity made me quiet as I stopped on my side of the barrier between us and tried my hardest to see through the mist to see the human. No matter how hard I tried though, the details of the person’s body remained hidden.

   After several moments, I felt the human’s eyes turn up towards me.

   A thrill of shock raced through me as I caught sight of the sickly green orbs. I recognized them as the eyes of the fox I’d met last night, but on a human face. I’m not ashamed to admit that the idea was kind of disturbing.

   The human’s eyes scrunched a little, as if he was smiling before he stood and brushed himself off.

   As he stood, I realized that, in the real world, he was probably a good two inches taller than me and the shadows of his shoulders were just about as wide as mine. I couldn’t make out any other defining details of the human since he was still closed off from me by the barrier around his mind, but I could see his eyes. They gave off a dull glow as we spoke.

   A vague spike of curiosity jumped through me as I considered what it would be like when he woke up in the physical world and shifted back to his human form.

   “We’ve been expecting you.” The human started, his eyes portraying a mild sense of intrigue.

   The voice he used was surprisingly calm and friendly. In it laid an underlying note that soothed some distant part of me.

   Just like his eyes, the sound was similar to the fox from last night- which should've been obvious, but was still surprising. The only difference between this version of the fox and the one from last night was that the human had a softer tone in the way he spoke. It drastically contradicted the gruff, broken way his demon side had talked.

   I hummed considerably and shivered as the pungent smell of human and something else drifted across my nose.

   “I suppose you would be the human side of the fox in our charge judging from your scent.”

   “That’s right.” The human affirmed, his voice low and outlined with curiosity. “Another minute or two and you would’ve been late.”

   My thoughts were already beginning to churn as he spoke, so I didn't pay much attention to the human's last sentence.

   "I almost thought I’d meet the demon half of you again.” I remarked before I could stop myself. The human figure across from me paused before giving a slight shrug.

   “You probably would've.” He responded, his voice holding the slightest hint of hostility. "After all, he has more inclination to trust you than me."

   I squinted at him, not entirely sure if I’d actually heard the change in his tone or if I was imagining it. His face was still concealed by the gloomy atmosphere around his mind, so I couldn't see what kind of expression he was wearing

   “I take it you don’t trust me then.” I surmised uneasily.

   “Nope." The human agreed. "I’ve been around the block a few times and I can’t say that I find you trustworthy. You agreed to keep us alive though and you didn’t attack us when you know very well that you should have and could have.”

   His voice still held a friendly note to it, but I could tell by the small impression I got from the necklace around my neck that he meant what he said. He didn’t trust me as much as I trusted him. The idea left a bitter taste in my mouth as I noticed the look in his eyes as well.

   Even though his shadowy stance was open and welcoming, I could see a dangerous glint in his darkening gaze. I realized with a sense of unease that every move I made was being analyzed. The green orbs in the human's face were still a faded green color which indicated just how poor the fox’s health condition was, but they were just as powerful and fierce as any fully functional person.

   “Would you have wanted me to attack you?” I asked in a calm tone. The human automatically shrugged, not an ounce of hesitation in his action.

   “That should've been your decision to make. It doesn’t matter what I wanted since you were the one in danger.” The human pointed out, causing me to wince. “Judging by this alone, I’d say your decision to let me stay is based more on instinct rather than logic. Had it been me making the decision, I wouldn’t have been so easy on you. You are either braver than me or more idiotic than me to let us stay.”

   I felt the insulted sting in the human’s last sentence. His words were meant to hurt and they did, but I didn’t allow my discomfort to show on my face. Within me, I felt the leopard’s displeasure at being insulted crawl through my thoughts as we gazed imperviously across the gaping chasm between us and the human.

   There wasn’t really an outward reaction from the human besides a small smile. The necklace around my neck bubbled with a vague sense of admiration though as the human met my eyes resolutely. I folded my arms, never once breaking eye contact with the human as I reminded myself why I was here.

   “No normal person could attack someone mentally and physically at the same time while fending off more than one person in a fight…” I mused after a few moments. The human shrugged.

   “Guess I’m a miracle worker then.”

   The challenge in his eyes as he spoke was blatant. I had to admit, I was impressed that the human had yet to lower his eyes to me, even though I could feel the alpha in me bristling just below the surface.

   Briefly, I caught the same scent from a moment ago that seemed to soothe some primal part of me. I had to resist the urge to let the challenge go as the scent muddled my emotions.

   “What did you do to my beta?” I asked, my voice dropping into a low, commanding tone as I tried to resist whatever spell was passing through me.

   “Who?” The human uttered, a sense of uncertainty swirling through the necklace.

   “The leopard you fought last night. What did you do to him?” I clarified, making sure to keep the fluctuation of frustration I could feel in my heart out of my voice.

   “ _Your_ beta huh?” The human observed, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Well, I’m assuming you’re aware of what happened last night and, based on the way you’re talking, I’d say the people I attacked were your pack members.”

   I nodded a little, my shoulders squaring off instinctively as the shadow across from me shifted. “That’s right. The leopard you attacked last night had several wounds inflicted on him, but he's also been having some issues upstairs, if ya know what I mean. I want to know what you did to him.”

   The human considered me for a moment before shrugging. “It’s a reversal spell.”

   “A what?”

   “A reversal spell.” The human repeated, the shadows of his shoulders rising a little in a small, half shrug motion. “They’re simple to make but hard to maintain and place. Of course, I’ve done it a thousand times though, so it was surprisingly easy for the demon to place it. It helps that the leopard last night had barely any mental defenses.”

   “What exactly is the spell supposed to be reversing?” I questioned him with an uneasy growl. The human squinted at me.

   “Your incapacitation spells around your territory.” He speculated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

   I felt a sense of realization dawn on me as I remembered that, despite us taking him in and agreeing to heal him, we hadn’t even considered what damage was being done by the spells. It should have been obvious, but, then again, there were a lot of pieces of information that we hadn’t considered since last night.

   The human shook his head and scoffed, his eyes rolling in their sockets in an exasperated motion. It was the first time that he had broken eye contact with me, but, instead of feeling the usual rush of satisfaction I got when I won these silent battles, I received a feeling of guilt as I watched a cold look begin coating the human’s green eyes.

   “We had no clue how else to get away from them. What’d you expect us to do?” The human defended himself with an irritated flip of his hand.

   “You’re not meant to get away from them. That’s the whole point.” I retorted before I could stop myself.

   Almost immediately, I caught the scent of anger drifting over from the fox’s mind. The smell made my face scrunch up in displeasure. There was something in its quality that made me want to roll over and apologize, something I hadn’t felt the urge to do since...

   “Obviously.” The human huffed, his arms folding themselves across his chest. “Last night, we were desperate. I tried searching for someone, anyone, who could help us. It wasn’t bad, at first, but when _your_ beta’s mind touched mine, I panicked and I didn’t meant to, but I lashed out at him and then…”

  For a moment, the human paused, his eyes distant and his lips parted.

   With a start, I realized that I could actually see his expression now. The purple smoke around his mind had faded a little and, beyond it, I was able to get a better idea of what he looked like. Under the smoke, I saw a soft beard the same shade of brown as the hair on top of his head and a broad face with an expression which seemed frozen in place for the moment being.

   After a moment, I saw his pupils flex and then the green in his eyes began to fade in color. Before, they had been bright forest green spots in the human’s face with only a slight cloud covering them. As I watched though, I could see the color in his eyes begin to drain, leaving a pair of eyes that appeared darker than their original light green.

   “Well, let’s just say I encountered a werecat who tried to kill me in the same way that the werecat last night did and that triggered more… _traumatic_ memories than I would have liked.” The human finished, his voice faltering.

   A thrill of surprise coursed through me as I caught sight of a single tear rolling down the human’s cheek. The single droplet rolled over the slight burn mark there before disappearing. Through the necklace, I felt a sense of despair and anguish so powerful that it made my throat tighten.

   “So the attack on my members and my beta was a byproduct of your instinct to survive.” I proposed, my heart growing heavy as I felt the human’s mind begin curling in on itself.

   “Yes.” The human responded, his eyes drifting to the side, far away from me.

   After a moment, I saw him wince, and, although I could see him resisting it, I felt a twinge of pain come spiraling up from the necklace. Slowly, my eyes drifted down to the glowing green pendant and I found that it too was fading in color.

   As if to compliment the fast spiraling of green into white, I felt the brass piece around the emerald begin rapidly heating up. On reflex, my hand reached up to grab it and I almost fell over as several bouts of pain and terror overcame my mind. The feeling of pain combined with the darkness around me made me so sick that I had to resist the urge to drop the necklace right then and there.

   Instinctively, I felt my mind begin to heat up. The sudden influx of pain and heat made me queasy, but I managed to channel the fire under my skin into my hands. Eventually, it got to the point where my own heat matched the heat coming from the necklace and I squeezed my eyes shut as the pain and fear coursed through me. The sensation made me feel like I’d ran a thousand miles.

   Across from me, the very atmosphere around the human seemed to pause and I could feel whatever heat didn’t go into the necklace being leached through the barrier around the fox’s mind.

   Several moments passed before the pain subsided and I was finally able to open my eyes again. For a moment, I hunched over, gasping for air as the everything began cooling down and I struggled to push the darkness away from my mind.

   As I glanced up, I saw that the human was hunched over as well, his chest heaving and his eyes still somewhat distant and unfocused.

   “Are you alright?” I asked, taking a hesitant step forward.

   The human in front of me lifted his hand to stop me, a grimace across his face revealing white teeth beneath the soft fog around him. I stopped to wait for him as he finished catching his breath and straightened. I didn’t want to seem too concerned, so I stayed quiet, waiting for him to look up at me.

   When the human did look up, it wasn’t to look me in the eye. Instead, his gaze wavered ever so slightly as he caught sight of the necklace leading down to the charm still in my hand.

   “It seems that you have a gift from us.” The human huffed. From beneath the mist, I could see his eyes narrow towards the hand that held the pendant.

   “I do.” I responded, briefly opening my hand to look down at the emerald within. “It seems your demon trusts me with more than you probably would have.”

   “Let me tell you something before you start assuming you know me.” The human snapped, his tone of voice catching me of guard.

   “We don’t know anything about you and you don’t know anything about us. Therefore, it’s in our best interests if we maintain our vigilance around each other. The demon half of me can be uncontrollable and he, as of right now, is running the show, something I haven’t let him do in years. The attacks he made last night were results of the fact that I’m practically a dead man talking. I’m not in control of anything right now and he is interested in nothing but our survival.”

   I frowned, my mind hesitating on the words that came into mind as I glanced back up at the human, my hand tightening around the necklace where I could _feel_ the frustration and uncertainty in the human.

   “I think I already know the answer to this, but I want to hear you say it.” I murmured, fixing the human across from me with a gentle but unrelenting look. I saw him shrink a little before he met my eyes head on with a hint of uncertainty. “Did you come from a human experimentalist lab?”

   The human hesitated before giving a slight nod. “Yes.”

   “They inflicted all those wounds on you then.” I proposed with a nod at the lower half of his body. The human nodded.

   “Yes.”

   “Even the head wound?”

   The human paused at this and there was a good moment where I feared that the fox might crumble in front of me. In fact, the feeling of something breaking within him felt palpable as he stared through the mist at me. Most of our thoughts were separated by the smoke shrouding his mind, but I could still feel the same fear from a moment ago worm through the fox as I gazed at him.

   “…yes.” He responded after several moments of silence.

   Sympathy welled up in my heart as I felt his mind flinch at one memory in particular and the human briefly turned his back on me to look into his mind. The frown already set in my face deepened a little.

   In any normal circumstances, the human should’ve known that turning his back on a stranger already at the border of his mind was dangerous. Had I been anybody else, I could’ve easily taken him down right then and there. Either the fox trusted me more than he said or whatever happened in his mind was very important.

   Just like last night though, I didn’t bother attacking him. The fox seemed mildly surprised when he turned back to find me still standing in the same spot as before, but his expression hardened a little when he noticed something in my face.

   “You said you placed a reversal spell on my beta. Can you take the spell off of him or help him some other way?” I suggested, allowing my worry and concern to cross my face. “He might die if you don’t.”

   “I can’t do anything. Not in this current state.” The human responded, his voice sounding mildly strained. After a moment, his eyes flickered and he looked away with a contemplative expression. “Although, there might be a way that we can still help each other.”

   I considered the response for a moment before gesturing to him. “Go on.”

   “I assume that you and your pack have been made into exceptions from the spells around your territory.” The human pondered. Despite the exertion I could see on his face to remain focused, his eyes grew a little more distant as he spoke.

   “Yeah. What about it?”

   “Could you make me an exception?”

   The question surprised me, but not as much as I would have expected. I realized as I thought about it that I’d already been considering the question. The only thing that kept me from suggesting it myself was my gut feeling that the others wouldn’t agree to it. It was all about safety nets for them, which was smart and the exact reason why I’d been trying to avoid thinking about what the fox suggested.

   Although… in the back of my mind, a plan began to hatch.

   “That’s out of the question. Without those spells, you could rise up and kill my family for all I know.” I explained, even when every instinct I had wished it wasn’t true.

   “And _with_ those spells, I will die.” The human lamented, a bitter smile gracing his face.

   I felt my heart begin to crumple in on itself as I caught the uncertain way he looked at me.

   We were both strangers to each other. There should have been no trust between us, and yet, the human didn’t even bother hiding the fear in his eyes when he spoke of his death. Even though I could feel his mind weakening, I knew it wasn’t the depletion of strength that made him reveal the sad, haunted look in his eyes.

   The fox was smart, resourceful. I’d seen that. Him showing his weakness to me probably went against all of his instincts, but here he was, his eyes beseeching me to help him.

   The thing I admired most about him was that he never groveled at my feet, begging for a place to stay though. Instead, he held his head as high as he was able and looked me directly in the eyes.

   “If you so wish, I can take the spells off of your beta.” The human suggested after a moment, his voice contemplative but sad at the same time. “It’s not like I have much to live for anyway. Even with the necklace that you now have in your possession, I won’t survive long.”

   The human watched me with a long, thoughtful expression as bile rose in my throat. The fox couldn’t die. He was too important, too valuable.

   Ignoring his self deprecating comment, I glanced down at the emerald that had remained clutched in my hand with confusion and intrigue.

   “What’s this for anyway?” I inquired, my fingers tracing across the three triangles around the brass piece encompassing the emerald.

   “Strength.” The human responded simply.

   “Ya know, your demon kept saying that last night too.” I huffed, turning my gaze back to the human. “I think he eventually understood that we had no clue what he was talking about, just as I have no clue what you mean by that now.”

   “We mean strength to heal ourselves.” The human responded, his eyes still increasing in their dullness. “I’m pretty sure the demon didn’t explain the terms and conditions to you guys with his limited vocab, so I’ll tell you now. Whether you decide to keep the necklace or not afterwards depends on you.

   “The necklace is another spell.”

   I felt my expression pinch involuntarily at his words, causing the human to raise his hand in a placating gesture.

   “It’s not dangerous per say, but it can be taxing to keep it with you.” He assured me. “The necklace feeds off your energy and transfers whatever I need to me. In a way, I suppose it’s a lot like the bonds you have with your beta, but without the marks. You haven’t claimed me, but, by keeping that necklace with you, you are essentially serving as an alpha who has claimed me by giving me more energy.”

   “What do you need the energy for?” I inquired, looking down at the necklace again. The human reached up to his scratch his chin as he responded.

   “Right now, we’re using it for miscellaneous things. Alone, we no longer have the energy to stay alive and, if I'm being honest, I think we would have died last night if you hadn't taken the necklace. It was our last straw and that’s why my demon got desperate enough to enter your mind.

   “I don’t want to tell you all of this because I feel like I’m pressuring you into making a decision, but that necklace is the only thing keeping us alive right now…” The human faltered, his eyes coming up to meet mine briefly before they drifted back down. Sympathy stung at my heart as I caught sight of a growing despair in the human’s eyes.

   “You need it." I muttered, shifting on my feet. "I understand that, and I shouldn’t be surprised that you guys are already that weak, but I can’t deny that I’m apprehensive about it.”

   “True.” The human responded with a slight nod of his head. “We’re only taking enough energy to stay alive as of right now. We wouldn’t dare take more to heal ourselves without your explicit permission, but we are still taking your energy.”

   I nodded before taking in a deep breath and letting it out. So far, I was beginning to put logic and actual evidence behind my inclination to protect the fox, but there was still one more question to be answered. My hunch last night was right in more ways than one. The fox was close to death. I was the only one keeping Death from claiming him.

   “This morning, the same beta I mentioned earlier had one of the worst nightmares he has ever had in all my years of knowing him.” I started slowly, glancing up at the human. “He told me that it was about the labs and that he experienced everything for himself, as if it were a memory more than a dream… You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”

   The human frowned. “I would like to say that we did nothing of the sort. However, I realized as my fox was searching our mind for a lost memory file earlier that he lost it in your beta’s mind.”

   “A memory file?” I guffawed, bemused by his answer. “How do you lose something like that?”

   “Well, before anybody showed up, and while I was searching for someone to help us, my demon half was hard at work trying to figure out how to heal my head…” The human began, his hands automatically touching the top of his skull where I assumed the hole I’d seen last night was.

   “I think he still had the file in his possession when he attacked the leopard and, during the fight, he probably dropped it before retreating to our mind. The beta was the only one we attacked mentally. My demon already had the reversal spells at hand, so he used them as swift as possible. I couldn't stick around for too long though. Mental contact causes me a lot of pain.”

   “Why?” I asked before I could think about it. The fox shook his head, his hand drifting back down to his side as he thought about it.

   “I assume it has something to do with whatever the humans did to me. I don’t know for sure though ‘cause I’m trying my hardest to avoid those memories. All’s I know is that mental contact is a big no go for me. In fact, I think this talk here will have some nasty effects on my mental state for a while. I can already feel all of it, all the bad stuff, creeping back in. I needed to talk to you though and try to clear my name enough for us to stay until we can at least survive on our own.” The human informed me with a frown.

   “In other words, we should figure out what we’re going to do soon so that you can get back to your mind.” I concluded, feeling slightly guilty for not considering the reason for the human’s discomfort earlier.

   “That would be a good idea.” The human agreed with a grim smile. I nodded.

   “Well, I can’t make any exceptions to the spells for you, although I would if I could. The others have to agree with me before I can even make a decision on how to help you. Between me and you, I don’t think they're going to be nearly as trusting of you as I am.”

   “That’s understandable. I did try killing two of them.” The human mused, his face turning into a grimace. I winced as I nodded my head.

   “Yeah, that’ll do it. Personally, I understand that you went through some major trauma and that you were defending yourself though. I would have done the same thing you did, but I probably would’ve failed a lot faster. I can’t say that I’m not impressed with your skills, no matter how much danger they’ve put my family in.”

   The human across from me let out a small huff and I could have sworn I felt a hint of embarrassment rise from the necklace around my neck.

   “I can’t remove the incapacitation spells from you yet, but I can give you the energy you need to fight them. If I did give you the energy you need, you could start healing yourself or at least help close off the bleeding and lift your reversal spell from Mini, right?”

   “In theory, yes.” The human conferred in a disinclined tone. “It would be a lot more taxing on you though. Luckily, I know how to control it, but I can’t guarantee that the same amount of energy will be taken each day. I could need more or less depending on my situation and you must understand that, by letting me take your energy, you’ll get fatigued easier, tired faster, hungrier more often.”

   “That is a price I’m willing to pay.” I answered with a conviction that surprised me, but one that I could feel was true. “If you take the spells off of my beta, off of Mini, I will gladly give you everything that you need. The others shouldn’t have to suffer for something that I’ve promised to take care of.”

   The human made a small hum, his eyes squinting a little as he looked down at the ground. By this time, the color of his eyes had dimmed to an almost pure white color and I began worrying even more about his mental state.

   “If you’re sure, I think I can do it.” The human assented even though I could still see the uncertainty on his face.

   “If you do it, I will keep my promise.” I reassured him, taking a hesitant step forward. The human drew back a little, crossing his arms over his chest once more.

   “You’re really willing to put that much trust in me?” The human fretted, something in his tone of voice making my chest tighten.

   I nodded. “I’m already putting a lot of trust in you to allow you so much as a single night in my house. For all I know, you could be putting on a face and then you could try and kill my family, but something tells me that won’t happen, so, I trust you. Like you said, that either makes me brave or idiotic. I’m not sure which it is as of right now, but I’m willing to take a bet on a little bit of both.”

   A huff of amusement ricocheted out into the gray abyss surrounding us and I was surprised to see that it came from the human. From the necklace, I felt a small flicker of warmth.

   “A little bit of both, huh?” He murmured to himself before shaking his head. “It’ll take a little longer for me to lift the spells just because I have to regain the energy I need to remove them, but I can probably do it by the time the sun goes down today.”

   “That’s good. Then, we can-“

   “One thing though…” The human interrupted reluctantly, his face revealing that he wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to say next. After a moment, when he seemed to conclude that he had my full attention, he continued.

   “I’m assuming your beta can’t remember who gave him the memories or who attacked him, right?”

   I nodded. "Yeah why?"

   “Well, you see, this morning we tried lacing our reversal spell with an amnesia spell in the hopes that we could slip back in and retrieve the memory we left without the that person getting hurt. We planned on placing the amnesia spell so that he could forget whatever he saw from our memory and he wouldn’t have to experience what happened for himself, but we failed. We didn’t have the strength to get the memory back and we had to leave before we could lift the amnesia spell.” The human shook his head and looked down at the ground.

   “You’re description of his nightmare means that he did see what was in our memory and that the spell didn’t work like it was supposed to. Beings that you had to ask if I attacked his mind last night, I’m assuming it decided to work on the nearest thing instead, which was probably your beta’s memories of last night’s ‘attacker’.”

   “Oh.” was all I could manage as I received this new information.

   The human gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry. That was a lot, but you get the idea.”

   “Yeah. I understand.” I assured him hesitantly. “At least, I think so.”

   “Look…” The human started before pausing. I saw in his eyes a brief moment of uncertainty before he shook his head. “I apologize for everything that has happened… I didn’t even catch your name.”

   “Evan.” I replied in a soft tone. “My name is Evan. What’s yours?”

   The human stopped to look at the ground, his eyes almost turning white as he struggled with something. I gripped the necklace around my neck a little tighter and he seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had started falling into.

   “… I can’t remember. I haven’t been able to remember for a while.”

   I let out a bitter smile, my memories conjuring up a person who had once shared the same eyes as the human across from me.

   “Ya know, I met someone like you once upon a time several years ago." I murmured, my gaze drifting to the ground. "He couldn’t remember his name either when I found him. Nowadays, he’s one of my greatest friends.”

   The human nodded as I glanced back up at him, a small tension releasing itself from his shoulders as he looked across the borders at me. “Thank you… Evan.”

   “Your welcome.” I responded with a smile and a small wave. “Good luck.”

   “And to you as well kind sir.” The human responded, a small warmth coiling in the heart beating in the necklace he’d given me.

   With that, he turned and disappeared once more into the purple smoke surrounding his mind. I was left with a sense of accomplishment that I hadn’t felt in years.

**Following the end of last chapter**

   I considered telling Brock what I’d found out that morning. I wanted to tell him that I’d spoken to the fox, that it was him who was hurting Mini, and that the fox’s memories were the ones Mini experienced. We didn’t have time for me to tell him though because we were never alone that morning.

   At no point between the conversation I had with the fox and the time that Moo and I went downstairs to help clean the fox were we alone, and I didn’t dare telling anyone but Mini or Moo about my encounter. The others would be angry if they found out all that I knew and they would ask questions that I wouldn’t be able to answer.

   If anything, I wish the spell on Mini’s mind could have been lifted at literally any other time, when we weren’t in the middle of a pack discussion about the very fox who inflicted the damage on him. Between that, Tyler’s angry protectiveness over Mini, and Mini’s sudden revelation that he knew who had hurt him, I panicked.

   While we were cleaning the fox, I’d come up with a plan of action. I was going to pull Moo and Mini aside before the meeting, or something, and explain what I’d discovered. I would tell them that I’d talked to the fox and he had agreed to help Mini get back to normal. I was going to explain everything to them.

   Obviously, that plan was thrown out the window when Tyler and I finished carrying Mini to the gaming room and the beta told me under his breath that he knew what had happened last night. I was so shocked that I could do nothing but sit there and stare at the ground even after Moo walked in and Tyler left to get some water.

   I don’t know why I tried to convince my betas that it wasn’t the fox. I suppose it was a byproduct of the anxiety already plaguing my heart and the feeling that all of my plans had just been dashed to pieces.

   Now, Mini knew the truth, but he had no explanations for what had happened like I did. Therefore, his anger at the situation was understandable as I revealed that I’d known about the fox’s actions last night.

“You lied to me.” Mini hissed lowly, his eyes clouded over with the same sense of betrayal I’d felt earlier that morning. Except, this time, the betrayal was directed towards me.

“No. I didn’t lie to you.” I retorted, dread building up in my throat. “When I talked to you this morning, I knew nothing. That is the truth. In fact, I would have willingly killed that God forsaken fox where he lay this morning had I not discovered the truth about his actions first.”

I wanted to believe that, I truly did. Although I’d been angry though, I wasn’t nearly angry enough to try and kill the fox. Just like the night previous, I held little to no ill will towards him despite all that he’d done, especially after my conversation with him earlier that morning.

If anything, my goal in meeting the fox had been to discover what had happened to Mini, but some deeper part of me understood that I’d also wanted a peaceful resolution for everything. I just wanted to establish some semblance of understanding between me and the fox. As the day progressed, I realized that I’d wanted nothing more than to understand him.

The fox I’d met had seemed sincere and, although I knew he wasn’t innocent, he was also in desperate need of my help. I knew better than to believe the notion that I could trust him a hundred and ten percent, but I was fairly certain that he was a good person deep down.

“The purple smoke.” Mini hissed through clenched teeth, his gaze hazing over with realization. “You recognized it this morning, so you had to know something about it when you spoke to me. Maybe you didn’t know for sure, but you still knew something and you never once bothered saying anything when we talked this morning.”

“For one, I was in a hurry because Nogla was trying to wake me up,” I argued, “and, for two, I couldn’t-“

“You couldn’t what?” Mini snapped, the scent of his anger and betrayal singing my nose.

“I couldn’t remain in contact with you!” I seethed, my own anger rising. I realized a little too late what I’d suggested when Moo’s green eyes narrowed towards me, but Mini didn’t seem to notice it as he stood to glare at me.

“Why the fuck not?”

“Because it wasn’t safe for you.” I growled, all too aware of Moo watching my expression out of the corner of my eye.

“Why? Because you were harboring a criminal in your mind?” Mini bristled, a sense of bitter satisfaction crossing his face when I flinched. “That’s right. I saw the purple smoke leave with you. Don’t try lying about that too.”

“I didn’t lie to you Mini.” I faltered, my heart sinking as I saw the beta’s lips peel back in an animalistic snarl.

“You didn’t tell me the truth either.”

Briefly, I looked down at Moo, wondering how he was taking this. The beta sat next to where Mini stood and I could tell that he was analyzing and categorizing every move and every thought that showed itself on my face. I couldn’t help but feel a little trapped between the two betas as Mini stepped closer to me.

“Fine. I’ll tell you the truth right now then.” Mini glared at me while Moo simply kept to his observations. “The fox broke into my mind last night.”

“You let him do what?” Surprisingly, it was Moo who stood to give me an incredulous look.

“I didn’t _let_ him do anything.” I defended myself indignantly. “I was distracted and I couldn’t protect myself in time. I could’ve pushed him out after he got in, but he didn’t do anything to hurt me.”

“I would’ve.” Brock huffed, a small hint of irritation flashing across his face.

“It was the demon part of him that visited me.” I supplied, although I didn’t feel like it was really necessary.

“Why would the demon visit you in his state?” Mini scoffed, crossing his arms. “You of all people! You could’ve killed him. Plus, shouldn’t it have been protecting his body?”

“That’s what I was asking myself too, trust me.” I conferred. Mini made a face at my choice in words but didn’t say anything else. “Don’t give me that look Mini. I’ve done nothing to you of my own free will. I had nothing to do with the fox attacking you last night and I had nothing to do with the reversal spell that, up until now, has been keeping you from healing yourself.”

“What the hell is a reversal spell and how do you know I can’t heal myself?” Mini hissed, his face scrunching up in doubt.

“I told him about not being able to heal yourself last night while Tyler was talking to you.” Brock admitted from the sidelines.

Mini gave him a strange look, his expression pinching behind his glasses. “I should’ve known.”

“Don’t get mad at me. He’s still our alpha and he deserved to know that something was wrong with you.” Brock argued with a pointed look towards Mini. The expression faltered when Mini’s expression gave way to anxiety.

“You remember for a fact that it was the fox, right Mini?” I called to the beta, briefly interrupting the look of conflict shared between the two betas.

“Yes. I can see him in my memories.” Mini responded, his eyes reluctantly coming back to me.

“And your healing abilities?” I asked, already knowing what the answer would be as Mini closed his eyes and placed a hand over his left side.

Several moments of silence passed before Mini’s blue-gray eyes flew open and he gave me an astonished look. My heart thumped with anticipation as Mini lifted his shirt and gently pressed into several spots along his side. Brock watched him with intrigue as he continued prodding the area.

“The fox is extremely weak.” I continued, my attention faltering  briefly when I realized that, so far, there was no lull in my strength or sudden exhaustion. I seemed just as normal as before, but Mini being able to use his powers had to mean that the fox was keeping up his end of the deal.

Mini looked up at me, his eyes shifting rapidly between doubt and gratitude. Slowly, he put his shirt back down and gazed at me with a hesitance that was normally never his to own.

“What did you do?” He asked, his voice low and uncertain.

“The fox told me this morning that he should be dead right now, but he’s not because he placed a reversal spell on you. The spell was meant to counteract the incapacitation spells around the territory and deflect them off of him and onto you.” I explained, intentionally leaving out the part about the necklace that he’d used to survive the night last night.

“That’s how he was able to fight so well.” Brock mused, his gaze shifting towards the ground as he began connecting the dots. I nodded.

“Exactly. So far, he’s been able to stay alive because the spells aren’t affecting him. They’re affecting Mini.”

“You said you talked to the fox this morning. How?” Mini asked, his expression holding some disbelief.

“I searched for his mind like I did with you and I found him and talked to him.” I informed the mystified beta. “He was waiting for me.”

“Why would he be waiting for you?” Brock inquired, his expression dark with concern.

“He said he wanted to explain himself and that he wanted to cut a deal.” I murmured, my voice lowering a little as I remembered that this was the sensitive part of my story, the part I’d wanted to keep for just my betas- at least for the time being.

“You’re right Mini.” I pressed on, folding my arms over my chest. “The fox was the one who attacked your mind and he was also the one who gave you the memories. Apparently when they attacked you last night, they dropped the memory file in your mind. This morning, they placed a spell on you to try and make you forget about the memory and retreat back to their mind, but they were too weak to complete the trip.”

“Why can I remember it now then?” Mini questioned, his eyes gaining the same expression of doubt as Moo’s.

“I’m getting to that.” I assured him. “Like I said, he wanted to make a deal when I met him. He was willing to lift the reversal spells from you as well as the amnesia, but he knew that it would kill him within several days if he did so. He suggested making him an exception to our spells, but I’m not dumb enough to trust him with that.”

“You trust him with everything else though, don’t you.” Mini muttered.

“Craig.” Brock reprimanded him with an elbow to the ribs. Mini glared sideways at him.

“Sorry. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that you made some mysterious deal with a stranger when you were at your most vulnerable and, suddenly, I’m cured. The deal had to come with some sort of consequence.”

“No actually.” I responded with a nonchalant shrug. “I knew that we couldn’t lift the incapacitation spells. Like I said, I don’t trust him as much as you might assume.”

Surprisingly, this was the truth. Despite my instinct to protect the fox, I knew he wasn’t dumb, and neither was I. We both knew that we had responsibilities that could limit the agreements between us.  For the fox, his main focus was just staying alive and, although it was a lot of stress to do so, I still had a responsibility to my pack.

I knew I was keeping some of the truth hidden. The fox had told me that the energy I supplied to him could be great in quantity and that it would be exhausting. From the looks on my betas’ faces though, I knew I couldn’t reveal that to them, or anyone else for that matter. They would worry to much. I had to downplay it as much as possible if they were even going to consider letting the fox stay. That wouldn’t be enough though. I had to give them something that would assure them that it was safe.

So, with another shrug, I paced over to the desk on one side of the room and sat down on the chair there.

“I agreed to give him small amounts of energy to at least alleviate the incapacitation spells to a point where he can stay alive." I informed them, completely aware that I was bluffing to some extent. "Even when he does make a good recovery and has his strength back to the point where he doesn’t need me, he won’t be able to escape the spells.”

“He did it once before. Why not again when he gets all his strength back?” Brock argued, his calculating gaze turning to me.

“It won’t happen.” I reassured them, mildly surprised by the conviction I could hear in my own voice.

“How can you be so sure?” Mini muttered, his eyes coming up to meet mine hesitantly.

“Because, Lui was in charge of that part of the spells and I remember specifically talking about a spell that was as resilient as it was ambitious. The spells are designed to take advantage of any momentary weakness and turn it against the person affected. The moment they get their teeth in their prey, it’s game over. That’s how they were designed. The fact that Mini can now remember who attacked him and that he can heal himself means the fox’s spells have been lifted and the incapacitation spell around the territory is beginning to work on the fox himself. Even though I agreed to help him, I don’t have to until I’m sure the spells have him in their grasp. After that, I’ll continue giving him the energy he needs to fight the part of the spell that attacks the immune system as well as the nervous system.”

Of course I didn’t mention this to the fox. Like I said, I may have wanted to protect him, but I didn’t trust him completely. This was the one thing that I knew I couldn’t reveal to him unless he decided to turn against me. Keeping this information from him meant that Mini was alive and my pack was safe from his clutches.

“That means here soon they’ll be in full effect and the fox will never be able to escape them once they claim him. At least, not unless we make him an exception.”

“Exactly.” I agreed with as much cheeriness I could muster. Brock gave me a strange look.

“So, it’s a trick of the light. A small amount of energy for Mini’s freedom- his life essentially- and the satisfaction that will come with knowing that we saved someone without being in danger of him attacking us.”

“I may want this fox to survive, but I don’t want you guys to get hurt in the process. My loyalty is to you guys.” I assured the werecat even though I felt a twinge of doubt in the back of my mind.

“I’m sorry I accused you of lying Evan.” Mini interrupted whatever Brock was going to say next, an apologetic look on his face as he averted his eyes. “I know you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to us so long as you knew about it and could do something about it. I just...”

“It’s alright Mini. I would’ve been angry if I found out you guys were lying to me about something too.” I replied.

My response was meant to be nonchalant. After all, I wasn’t thinking about anything but the sudden realization that I’d agreed to be a battery for a stranger who I didn’t even know. It was no surprise then that I didn’t notice the momentary look of regret and shame shared between Mini and Moo.

“The others are getting antsy Evan.” A new voice appeared somewhere down the hall. “I would suggest heading back soon.”

I nodded, casting a suspicious look at Tyler as he walked into the room with a glass of water and a seemingly oblivious look on his face as he noticed the tension in the room. For a moment, I wondered if Tyler had heard anything that we had just been discussing.

Mini received his glass of water with a grateful glance up at Tyler. Already, I could smell the scent of the beta’s blood beginning to dissipate from the air around us. A small sense of accomplishment rolled through me, tempering the unease I felt, and I made a mental note to thank the fox the next time I saw him.

“How are you feeling?” Tyler asked Mini, his face full of concern and the electric blue alpha in his eyes still glowing. Mini looked up at me with a conflicted gaze before shrugging.

“I’m better than I was at least.”

“Are you alright to go back to the meeting? It’s gonna be stressful.” Brock remarked with an uncertain glance my way. “They’re going to drill you with questions and your injuries just might be the deciding factor in the result of this meeting’s decisions.”

“I know.” Mini murmured, nursing the cup of water between his hands. “I have a feeling I’m better equipped to deal with those questions right now though.”

I caught the small look he cast my way as he stood. Immediately, I shook my head a little, hoping the message got across to Mini. I wasn’t sure if it did, but I couldn’t ask him now. Tyler wouldn’t have been happy to know that he’d missed a huge chunk of our important conversation.

Together, Mini and Tyler left the room and I was left standing alone with Brock. There was a moment where neither of us said anything. Just as I went to open my mouth to say something, anything, Brock cut me off.

“I would say ‘screw you Evan', but I can’t because I know you have a plan. Even if they can’t see it, know that I’m not fooled.” The werecat muttered, his voice betraying a sense of discomfort.

Of course, I expected it. The entire time, I could see that Brock had been analyzing me, calculating what was going on in my head. Out of the entire pack, he was the best person equipped to do so. He had known me the longest and he knew the old me better than anyone. So, yeah. I expected Brock to see through my bluff about the fox.

Without another word, the beta left the room, down the hallway. With a sigh, I trailed after him.

As I entered the living room, I sensed a boiling anger under the atmosphere and, to my surprise, it seemed to be coming from Marcel and Scotty. The two were glaring across the couches at one another, the heat in their eyes creating a storm in the gap between them. Even Lui seemed to be scooting further away from Scotty despite being caged in between the fuming panther and the winged creature by his side.

I barely caught the moment where Marcel noticed Tyler and Mini coming back and immediately stood up to greet them. His face was contorted with a sense of anger, but I could tell that he was trying to keep it under control.

“What happened to you?” The alpha growled, his gaze directed towards Mini despite the fact that Tyler had angled himself in front of the beta.

“I just got a little dizzy. I’m better now.” Mini reassured him, pushing past Tyler to face Marcel. From him, I smelt the usual calming pheromones, but they seemed to have no effect on the alpha in front of him.

“No, you’re not. It would be a miracle if you were completely fine and I don’t see no goddamn faith healer here.” Marcel snarled.

“Marcel.” I tried and failed to reprimand him as his now orange glowing eyes turned past the two in front of him to glare at me.

“Mini almost dropped to the ground because of his wounds and the pain. You expect us to just ignore that? Why do you protect that _animal_ after what he’s done!?” The tiger growled. Everyone let out sounds between surprised grunts and utterances of agreement as Marcel spoke.

Mini opened his mouth to respond only to stop when I raised a hand, the motion silencing the entire room. All eyes turned on me and I felt my heart stop briefly as I met Marcel’s furious eyes.

“All of us in this room are animals Marcel. Remember that.” I quipped, never once taking my eyes of him. I could already see the challenge in his eyes growing as I continued. “We’ll deal with Mini’s situation here in a minute. Right now, you guys just need the facts.”

“What other facts do we need other than he tried to kill four of our friends?” Scotty growled.

Marcel’s gaze wavered ever so slightly at these words and he straightened a little. In his eyes, I could see that he was asking the same question, but with a hint of reluctance.

“You need to know his condition. The reasoning behind his attack as well as his wounds.” I responded after a moment of silence.

“You’re defending-” Scotty started, but cut himself off when Marcel turned to glare at him. The panther glowered at him, his eyes filled with unspoken rage.

“Everyone sit down.” I ordered before their confrontation could get any further.

Tyler and Mini took the seats they’d claimed previous to this and Marcel walked away to stand at the back of the room near the fireplace. It was clear that he refused to sit down and, as for Moo, I felt a twinge of guilt as I considered what he’d said to me a moment ago. Even as he stood over Brian, looking down at his boyfriend, I could tell that he wasn’t happy with me.

“Brian.” I called to the werecat who’s attention had been focused on Brock’s face up until that point. He looked over at me, a strange expression across his face. “Explain what we found this morning.”

Brian heaved a sigh before turning his attention out towards everyone else. The room’s attention shifted towards him after a moment and it was only then that he began to speak.

“This morning, when Evan woke me up to help Nogla wash the fox, we found a pool of blood beneath his head. When we looked at it, we found a hole the size of a quarter in his skull.”

Several sounds of disgust resounded through the room at this. Even Marcel and Tyler stared at Brian with looks of vague discomfort, but I could tell that none of them seemed to realized what this meant. No one except maybe Nogla who was looking at Moo with an expression of concern.

“The hole came from the humans and demons who experimented on him in the labs.” Moo snarled so suddenly and with so much anger that I was surprised Brian didn’t spontaneously combust under his gaze.

Somehow, the other werecat managed to simply sit and look up at his estranged boyfriend with a solemn expression. The same feeling of unease from that morning coursed through me as I watched the way Brian reached up to grab Moo’s hand to hold in his.

Personally, I already knew that Moo wanted to help the fox because they had both experienced the labs. As for the others, the very air surrounding us seemed to halt as they considered Moo’s words and slowly began putting two and two together.

“The hole in his head was made by the people in the labs, the same labs that I was sold to, the same labs I spent a _year_ in, the same-” Moo stopped before he could continue. I could see his shoulders shaking ever so slightly and a large part of me wanted to stop him, but I knew I couldn’t. The others had to know why this fox was important to Moo at the very least.

“My best guess is that they used _the_ operation. The one where they take a drill to a person’s skull and hack away.” Brock shuttered at some memory he was seeing and, out of the corner of my eye, I caught the tear that rolled down Mini’s cheek. “Not a lot of people survived after the first few times they were… After they drilled into ‘em a few times.”

“Viawa.” Lui commented under his breath. His voice was so quiet that I almost thought I’d imagined it.

“What was that Lui?” I inquired, leaning over the recliner in front of me. The shapeshifter glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before turning away.

“What is Viawa Lui?” I asked again, my voice unintentionally dropping a little lower.

The shapeshifter next to Nogla swallowed harshly and looked away. If I was being honest, I can’t say that I could ever admit to seeing Lui nervous. For the most part, he was self assured and confident in almost everything he did. To see him uncomfortable was unsettling to say the least.

“Viawa is an operation that the humans came up with. It’s designed to limit demons to their most basic abilities and keep them from attacking people while they do experiments.” The shapeshifter responded with a frown. “They found a certain operation that can impair the intellectual capacity of any demon. They also found out that by impairing that part of a demon’s mind, they could cut a demon off from their telepathic abilities so none of the ones they capture can communicate with their packs or control the minds of the humans in some cases.”

“I remember that.” Moo murmured, his voice quivering a little. All eyes turned to him once more as he collected himself. “I remember seeing what happened to the people in the labs. Viawa… not only does it make a person dumber than a box of rocks, it also cuts them off from any other life forms. If they die, they die alone… empty… not knowing what happened.”

“So, they did this to the fox.” Panda stated rather than questioned. “They drilled into his head, kept him from communicating with anyone… That’s just-” He rubbed at his face and let out a small groan.

Without lifting his head, he asked no one in particular, “Do you think he was awake?”

For a moment, I feared that Moo was about to go storming out of the room. To me, this wasn’t new information. After all, I’d seen lab plans during my time in the lab I’d found Moo in. To the others, I could imagine the pain and anger that was going through their guts, but with more potency.

Lui cast a cautious look at Moo before nodding. “Most likely. The humans tend to be a bit… sadistic while they’re ‘learning’.”

A low, intimidating growl resounded through the room and, for a second, I feared that Moo would go running out the door in that very moment to hunt down the humans and demons who had done these operations. To my surprise, the beta fought down the sound in his chest and simply sat down on my side of Brian, his head lying against the back of the couch. The others, mostly Brian, watched him do this with varying expressions of concern.

I understood their trepidation. Out of all of us, Moo was normally the calmest and he was much better than any of us at keeping his cool in stressful situations. To see him genuinely angry and sad at the same time was such a strange and unsettling thing to feel from him.

“I understand you guys, I really do.” I started, folding my hands over the back of the chair I was leaning on. “The fox, he attacked four of our members, our greatest friends, and caused a lot of damage, but a lot of damage has been done to him as well.”

“That doesn’t justify his actions though.” Marcel muttered with a partially apologetic look my way. “Ya can’t just keep bringing in strays. Eventually, one of them is going to bite us in the ass.”

I nodded. “I know. Shouldn’t we take the chance though?”

For a moment, everyone seemed to hesitate. I could still feel the tension between Scotty and Marcel while Panda, Nogla, and Mini just seemed sad. Moo was still looking up at the ceiling with a distant look, which was worrying, but Brian was watching him carefully out of the corner of his eye. As for Lui and Tyler, they both seemed apprehensive to say the least and I could still see doubt in their eyes despite their obvious sympathy towards Brock.

“They will come for him Evan.” Lui spoke up with a small ‘what can you do’ motion of his shoulders. “You know they will. If they thought he was worthy enough to perform Viawa, then they will be back to find him. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I know.” I murmured, my eyes drifting to the ground. The fox had told me he needed protection. I’d already connected the dots.

“Yet you still think keeping him here is the best idea?” Tyler asked. His voice held no hostility, but I could see that he was still uncertain about the situation.

I nodded. “Yes.”

Tyler let out a hefty sigh before shaking his head. “Whatever you think is right Evan.”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears and I think it showed on my face because Tyler gave me an amused half smile before shrugging.

“We’ve known each other for over six years now and you’ve been leading us for almost five. Somehow, we’re still breathing.”

Across the way, Panda and Marcel both made their own huffs of amusement. I looked around the room to see a lot of nods of approval, even from Lui,who still seemed a little uncertain.

“Whatever you decide, I won’t disobey your orders Evan.” Marcel averred with a sideways glare at Scotty. “You’re a good leader and, although I don’t say it often enough, I respect you as our alpha. I just want to make sure that you’ve considered all the possibilities before you make a definite decision.”

“I have, trust me. This is the only way.” I concluded with a small nod.

“If that’s what you’re thinking, then we need safety nets for when the fox wakes up. Things to keep us protected.” Lui proposed.

“Already way ahead of ya.” I confessed, hope sparking a small flame in my chest. “Last night, I told the patrol that there’ll be three rules going into this. Basically, the fox has to stay in comatose until his wounds are healed. He is not allowed to see the rest of the house if and when he wakes up, and he is to be watched at every second of every day.”

“And if he attacks us again?” Lui inquired. I glanced over at him, the giddy feeling growing in my chest fading a little.

Without breaking eye contact with the shapeshifter, I made a small shrug. “Then we kill him.”

Of course, I didn’t mean it, but I knew that most everyone in the room believed me. Sure, I’d told Moo to do so without a second chance. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that point though. The others seemed satisfied with the answer though and I felt a sense of sickness dawn on me as I realized that I’d just given them permission to kill the fox. If they accidentally hit the wrong nerve and he attacked them, they could kill him, but I didn’t want that. What was the alternative though?

Would I fight my own pack members, my family, over a stranger?

“First, we should go through and make sure everyone agrees with this before you do make a decision though Evan.” Panda asserted, leaning forward in his seat to look around the room. “Personally, I wasn’t sure what we should, but I’m convinced, for the most part, that helping the fox will be a good thing, especially because now we know we have protection against him.”

Nogla nodded. “The spells in this area will also keep him apprehended when he wakes up.”

I winced internally while Mini made a noise of agreement.

“Moo and I can work on healing him. Hopefully he gets better and then, who knows? He could be a valuable asset to us. Someone who could help around the house.”

“I think I’d like to see him get better as well.” Brian murmured from his spot on the couch. “It’d be interesting to see what kind of person he is.”

I nodded, my eyes leading me to look at the others in the room who had yet to speak. None of them seemed apt on stating their opinion though, so I nodded towards Scotty and gave him a questioning look.

“What’s on your mind FourZero?”

The panther shook his head, casting a glance up at Marcel before averting his eyes. “I still don’t feel comfortable with the idea that we’re taking in a dangerous criminal and trying to make him ‘better’. It just doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Same here.” Lui admitted, glancing sideways at the panther next to him. “I don’t trust him in here and I feel like he’s a bad omen. Plus, I don’t like the idea that we might end up dedicating a ton of our time to him in vain.”

Moo’s head popped up to gaze at Lui, but his eyes held no anger or judgement. Still, his expression seemed haunted and I was reminded of my thoughts from last night. Lui was right. The fox could die at any moment.

“Look, I know you don’t want to admit it, but we have to accept the fact that he might die before we can finish healing him.” Lui defended, his hands held up in a placating gesture. Brock simply continued gazing at him with that same empty expression that I realized reminded me of the fox.

“We still have to try.” Tyler asserted after a moment of silence. The others turned to look at him with varying expressions of surprise and uncertainty.

“Tyler’s right.” Marcel added on, meeting everyone’s eyes as their attention shifted towards him. Briefly, he glanced up at me and sighed. “So is Evan. What kind of people would we be if we didn’t at least try?”

“Living people.” Scotty scoffed, although I could see in his eyes that he didn’t mean it. If anything, the comment seemed to be used to get under Marcel’s skin, which it did if the angry glare the alpha sent the panther was anything to go by.

“Maybe, but how will we know for sure unless we do it.” Tyler interjected, his voice bringing the pair back to the world outside of whatever internal argument they were having with each other.

I nodded before turning to Moo who was still sitting in the same spot, his eyes a little glazed over with unshed tears.

“Brock?” Mini called, causing the werecat’s eyes to turn towards him. “You okay?”

After a moment, Brock wiped the long sleeve of his shirt across his nose and nodded.

“I’m good. Just reminded myself of something awful. I’ll be fine though and you guys already know my answer.”

Brian threw his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder and gently pulled him into his side. Brock allowed himself to lean sideways as everyone’s eyes turned towards me. I met their gazes, each in their own turn before nodding more to myself than anyone else.

“It’s decided then. The fox stays with us until he’s fully healed. Until then, we are all responsible for his safe keeping while Moo and Mini heal him. Everybody clear?”

“Yes, Evan.” came the unified response from all nine members in the living room that morning.

Lui was right, as you can suspect. If he wasn’t, there’s a chance I wouldn’t be telling this story. Everything did change with the fox’s appearance and, although many good things came from it, I remember feeling the slight twinge of hesitation in my chest.

Unbeknownst to me, I’d just put my whole family in a hurricane of danger that was never meant for them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens~
> 
> Ah that took a while to get out and I feel like, at this point, I might as well not even apologize cause I will probably be late again in the future ^^’
> 
> Just recently, I've started yet another research project which is due in May. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of my time will be taken up by that for the next month or so. I say this so that you guys can have a pretty good guess as to why I might be late these next few weeks. (It's not like I've been on time anyway ^^’) On top of this, April has been and will continue to be very eventful for me. Just know that I'm finishing out this chapter of my life as strong as possible while also doing something I thoroughly enjoy, which is writing~
> 
> On a good note, the weather here is taking a turn for the better. Hopefully my motivation to write will increase as Spring sets in.
> 
> All of that aside, I leave you guys with this question:  
> What would you have done in Evan’s position knowing what he knew?
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! I hope you are all doing wonderful today~
> 
> I know, I’m late again. Summer is coming up though and I have recently finished a lot of my finals for basically the rest of this school year. I’ll still have school until the end of May, but I hope these next few weeks, I can be much more productive with this story than I have been since basically the beginning of this year ^^’  
> Anyway!
> 
> The only note I have for you guys right now is that there are such things as witches in my universe. They are basically humans who know a lot about spells and potions and whatnot, but they are generally called Matvreena in this story. They’re nature and origins are still yet to be understood since they are fairly new, so I don’t have much to offer, but it is something to keep in mind.  
> One term to know for today is the word "disfraquine" (dis-fraw-keen). This is an insulting term which refers to traitors and spies who sell people out for money. Also, all the names in here have subliminal meanings. Good luck on the mini scavenger hint and remember I use Korean and Spanish for name ideas.
> 
> I have so many surprises for you guys with this one~ This chapter especially, I’ve been looking forward to since I started writing this story about a year ago. You guys have a lot to look forward to with this one and, for your patience, I have made this into a super chapter. It might take a full day to read it, so I’ll let you guys get right into it~
> 
> Enjoy!

**Vanoss’ Perspective**

**Three days later**

_“I wish you’d been there. The show was amazing!” A familiar sense of happiness overwhelmed me as I watched the man approach me from across the street. He gave me a lopsided grin and stuck out his arm out for me to hold on to. I took it with a grateful glance towards him before we continued walking down the sidewalk that I’d been traveling on._

_"I bet it was.” The southern accent of his voice struck a chord in me as we walked. “Then again, I know you. You’d be excited about any play, even if it was the most god-awful thing on the planet.”_

_I shrugged, my hold on his arm tightening. “True. Course, it would’ve been better with you there.”_

_"I’m sorry ****.” The man hummed, glancing side long at me with a somber smile. “He needed my help.”_

_“I know.” I assured him, letting out a small sigh. “I don’t blame you. Just making a comment.”_

_The man paused, pulling me back to stop next to him. He looked down at me with a guilty but endearing look, his dark brown eyes contrasting the dark red hue I was used to seeing in those orifices._

_“Next time for sure. I’ll take you to a play and it’ll be the best goddamn play you ever saw.”_

***********

   A low groan echoed through my room as I rose from my dream state and stared up at the ceiling. The white paint above me seemed as though it were tinted gray. Without much thought, I turned over in my bed to look up over my headrest and out my window.

   Outside, gray rain clouds hovered over top of the trees, their color struck through by a few strands of sunlight. The last remaining droplets of water from the previous night’s rainfall streaked across my window in a silent race against themselves. The only other light in my room came from a solitary candle on my desk whose flame waved at me.

   With a sigh, I sat up fully in my bed. Immediately, I went to rub at my eyes only to freeze just before my hands could touch my face. A momentary dread pressed through me as I observed each one of my hands and flipped them over several times. No matter how hard I looked, there wasn’t any red marks like I was expecting. After a moment, I realized that my skin wasn’t crawling with heat either.

   A small hum of surprise rippled through my chest as I turned to check my sheets for any burn marks and found nothing, not so much as a singed corner of fabric. In fact, the only warmth coming from my bed was the natural heat I had produced in my sleep. I couldn’t help the deep sigh of relief that escaped me.

   It was the third day since the fox had come to us and the second morning since finding the fox that I’d been able to get some sleep without burning the house down. Knowing that my inner fire wasn’t affecting me now gave me no comfort though. The fear of waking up to being engulfed in flames was constant.

   For the first time in seven years, I’d once again been made aware of the power lurking under my skin. I knew from experience that my fire was as unpredictable and dangerous as a rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike. Yet, I hadn’t been able to resist the call of sleep these past two nights.

   During the last few days, I’d been offering somewhere around half of my daily energy to the fox through the necklace hanging around my leopard’s neck. As each day passed, I could feel the toll hitting me harder and with more intensity.

   Of course, I should’ve expected it. The body is only meant to keep one person alive and it only produces enough energy for that one person. Therefore, trying to keep two people alive with such a limited supply of energy was like trying to saw a battery in half. It was extremely unhealthy and taxing for me personally.

   To make matters worse, the fox’s body had continued pouring out at least two pints of blood a day for the past three days, half of which came from his head. Mini and Moo were trying their best to heal him. Despite their efforts, they still hadn’t been able to stop the bleeding coming from the fox’s head, his back, or his legs. It was for this reason that both Mini and Moo were beginning to tire, Mini more than Brock.

   Even though the fox had kept his promise and lifted the reversal spell from Mini three days ago, the damage had already been done. Late last night, the two betas and I discovered that the spell kept Mini’s body from making blood clots when it was placed. Therefore, he’d lost a lot of blood, more than what was probably healthy. Considering the whole purpose of the incapacitation spells was to make sure that intruders couldn’t heal themselves while in our territory, it's effects on Mini should’ve been obvious a lot sooner. Like everything else that had happened in the past few days though, none of us had considered it.

   Nobody’s body, no matter how strong they are, recovers from injuries like Mini’s overnight. Several of the beta’s vital organs had been skimmed over and internal bleeding had only exacerbated the damage that had already been wrought. Considering it had only been three days since Mini was able to heal himself again, it was no surprise that he was still weak.

   Instinctively, my body wanted to give the beta what little energy I could offer. My instincts didn’t consider the fox a priority in my energy distribution because he wasn’t part of my pack. Therefore, for the past few days, it’d been struggling to limit the energy supply from me to Mini.

   I didn’t want to close off Mini completely from my energy. After all, he was still my beta and I still felt guilty for all the things that had happened to him because of the fox. Spending my energy three ways was not practical though. I knew if I didn’t put limits on where the energy went, my body would collapse in on itself faster than it already was.

   Keeping the fox alive until Moo and Mini could finish healing him was my priority. The longer it took to heal the fox, the more tensions within the pack rose. The tighter tensions got, the more likely it was that someone would get hurt and, although I hated to admit it, the likeliness of Mini and Moo going into a Haze was starting to haunt the back of my mind with increasing resilience.

   Drawing in a deep, meditative breath, I sat up in my bed and crossed my legs with my hands resting in my lap. For a moment, I let my thoughts sludge through my mind and allowed myself to wake up a little more.

   My body ached. I could feel every single muscle in my arms and legs being pulled on as they stretched to keep me upright. Part of me felt like going back to sleep, but I wanted to check on something first.

   Once I was sure that I could handle going into my mind without passing out, I took in a breath and shivered. Casting a longing glance at the vanilla scented candle on my desk, I plunged into my mind.

   My leopard watched me closely as I pushed away from the controls and turned to look at him. His golden fur glowed brighter than usual. It seemed like it had been that way a lot the past few days. The only thing that gave away his mutual exhaustion was the dark rings under his eyes.

   Almost immediately, my eyes wandered to the necklace around the leopard’s neck.

   I couldn’t remember the dream I’d been having before I woke up. The only thing I remembered was the deep sense of longing within my chest while experiencing it. As I looked at the necklace, I questioned if it was my dream or if it was residue from the fox’s mind.

   Over the past three days, the fox hadn’t had any active thoughts whatsoever. There was no flicker of intelligence. No impressions like the ones I’d experienced when I talked to him a few days ago. Instead, he was once more an inanimate robot, focused on nothing but the functions of his body.

   I shouldn’t have expected anything different. After all, the fox did tell me that he wasn’t doing very well and mental contact hurt him when I talked to him last. Despite this, I still felt disappointed that I couldn’t talk to him.

   There were so many questions I had for the fox, most of which related to who he was. Part of me still wondered what his purpose was in our territory and another part of me wondered if it was all just coincidence that he ended up here with me. I wanted to know if he could remember his name or anything about his past or maybe even tell me something about the labs.

   Most of all though, I just wanted to make sure that he was going to survive. If he didn’t…

   With a groan, I returned to the real world and reached for my phone, which sat on my nightstand. Gently, I unhooked it from its charger and brought it back to my lap. With a few flicks of my thumbs, I unlocked the screen and opened my messaging app to text Brock.

    _How u holdin up,_ I asked, tapping the send button. While waiting for a reply, I checked my notifications for several social media apps. After a few moments, a new notification from “Moo” came up. I clicked on it and read the text.

    _Night went fine. His back has stopped bleeding for now. I’m exhausted, but Mini should be awake soon to take over, so I’m going to bed. Wake me up again before you leave for town today. We have some things to discuss._

    I shifted uncomfortably before sending another text saying, “will do”, and throwing my phone over to one side of my bed. My hands came up to rub at my cheeks vigorously as I remembered my task for the day.

    Today was the day I was supposed to go into town to meet the ambassadors of Panlyog.

   Over a week ago, I’d made a call to a demon named Legiqn. He was an International Demon Rights representative. Basically, his job was to travel the world speaking to humans, like the ones in Panlyog, on behalf of the demons who lived there. His job was to make sure that all the demons who decided to live with humans weren’t being discriminated against or unlawfully killed or imprisoned.

   Legiqn was a big deal in the political world. He wasn’t afraid to state his opinion and he never backed down from a fight. Of course, he was also very diplomatic, which meant that he could argue a point without fist fighting someone. He was a pretty open-minded guy when it came to the other side of the argument he was involved in and his reputation for being kind yet firm in his political stances was immense throughout Noanric.

   Obviously, Panlyog was one of the few places that Legiqn was sent to check on a lot. I’d met him several times, either in town or during the few times he had visited the house.

   When I called him to see if he could get me any leads on the human experimentalist lab Zephyra had sent me after, he was more than willing to cooperate. In fact, he’d even gone so far as to set up a meeting for me to talk to the ambassadors of Panlyog. I didn’t know how he did it, but I wasn’t willing to look the gift horse in the mouth for this one.

    I knew I would have to meet the ambassadors alone. They wouldn’t take kindly to me bringing a bunch of people along. To add to that, nobody but Brock and Mini knew about my meeting with Zephyra anyway. Even if I could have brought someone along, those two were the only ones who could have attended the meeting, but they were busy. This left me with the fact that I had to go at it alone.

    For the past few days, I’d been considering how I should go about dealing with the experimentalist lab. My main line of thought followed thinking about questions I could ask the ambassadors when I got there that afternoon. I knew they'd be human and they're opinions biased against demons. So, I tried coming up with questions that could make them slip up and lead me to any hints about the labs.

   I didn’t know what Legiqn had told the ambassadors about me. I knew he wouldn’t tell them my true intentions of finding the lab. The humans would never have revealed anything if Legiqn told them what I was looking for, and he knew that I didn’t want the pack to be exposed as demons to anyone in Panlyog either. The chances of hunters finding us would increase tenfold if even just one person found out.

    As these thoughts crossed my mind, I shifted towards the edge of my bed and stood up. I took a moment to blink away the dizziness that swept over me before walking over to my closet to find several outfits that I could choose to wear.

   As soon as all the outfits were set out, I dialed Legiqn’s number and pressed the phone to my ear. Two rings sounded before the other end of the line clicked and I heard the soft intake of breath from the person on the other side.

   “ _Hello_?” Came the greeting, the voice surrounded by a film of city noise.

   “Hey Legiqn. It’s Evan.” I responded in a friendly tone.

   “ _Oh, hi Evan! What’s up_?” Legiqn exclaimed jovially. I couldn’t help but smile a little at the demons ever present energy.

   “Hey. I was calling about the meeting today.” I informed him, my feet already beginning to pace around my room.

   “ _Oh right_ !” Legiqn recalled in the same bubbly tone of voice. “ _I was going to call you this morning to tell you where we’re meeting. I figured, since you’re meeting is right at noon, we could meet a few minutes before then in front of the embassy._ ”

   I nodded even though Legiqn couldn’t see the action. “Sounds good to me. I was actually going to ask about my meeting itself though. Should I wear something fancy, like a suit?”

   On the other end of the line, I heard Legiqn let out a small laugh.

   “ _No. I think a suit would be a tad overkill. A decent outfit without any holes or stains is good enough_.”

   “Alright.” I murmured, ignoring a slight spike of anxiety in my chest as I grabbed one of the outfits on my bed that fit that description. “Another thing I was going to ask, was how did you set up the meeting- er- what exactly did you tell the ambassadors about me?”

   The abrupt rush of wind over the speaker, accompanied by heavy breathing, told me something was happening on Legiqn’s end. I paused with one leg stuffed into the black dress pants I was trying to put on as I listened. Through the speaker, I heard someone shouting and a loud car horn honking angrily.

   “ _Fuckin’ asshole. Learn to drive idiot_ !” Legiqn yelled at someone on his end. I arched an eyebrow and waited for him to say something else. “ _Sorry ‘bout that Ev. Some asshole just tried to run me over_.”

   “Sounds dangerous.” I remarked with a frown.

   “ _You’re telling me._ ” Legiqn responded, sounding mildly out of breath. _“I’ve been walkin’ around town for an hour and a half and I’ve almost been hit at least three times. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was intentional at this point. The hatred for demons runs deep within this town, let me tell you what_.”

   Personally, I knew Legiqn was right. Him getting into a car accident wouldn’t have been the first time a demon got killed or hospitalized because of “reckless driving” in Panlyog. That was part of what scared me the most about the town.

   Anybody could be listening. Anybody could find out what you were and, before you even blinked, someone could try to kill you. Then, their government made it look like an accident to cover up their tracks. The notion made me sick.

   “You are a bit of a celebrity these days.” I conceded reluctantly, a bitter sense of anger fluttering through my chest. “Everyone knows you’re face, so I wouldn’t doubt it if someone tried killing you.”

   “ _Whatever. They’ll never be fast enough to catch me_.” Legiqn assured me with a sense of confidence I envied. I sighed as I pulled my pants up over my butt and smoothed them out.

   “The day you start banking on that will be the day you regret Legiqn. Remember that.”

   A sigh of laughter resounded through my speaker. I could almost see Legiqn stopping to look up at the sky like he always did when we brought up this topic.

   “ _So you’ve told me Evan. Don’t worry. Underestimating people, even ones as reckless as the humans, has never been a specialty of mine_.”

   Several moments of silence passed between us as we let our words sink in. Legiqn knew it was dangerous for one of the most famous demons to be walking around alone in the human city that hated demons. The only reason he wasn’t dead by now was that he was smart. He never assumed he knew anything. So far, this habit of overestimating everyone he met was the only thing keeping him alive.

   “ _Anyway_ ,” Legiqn continued with a sigh, “ _about your question. Basically, the only thing I told them was that you were a reporter named Evan inquiring about the DemHum relationships in Panlyog for_ Noanre International.”

   “And they just accepted that?” I muttered in disbelief. _Noanre International_ was a famous news company in Noanric. Between _Noanre_ and _Rekain Daily_ , they were the top news stations for everybody around the continent. Most of the news that was delivered to everyone came from either of the two channels.

   “ _Well, I know that I mentioned it when I talked to you last, but I’m pretty sure they’ll have an agenda that they’ll try to press on you_.” Legiqn informed me. “ _That’s how they work after all. They’re main boss, Boheirna, is extremely ambitious. She’ll have answers to questions that you haven’t even thought of yet. Most likely, they’ll spout some sort of nonsense about how humans are awesome and kind and gentle and caring, and demons are disgusting. It’ll be subtle, but I can guarantee it’ll be there, especially from Hezro_.”

   "I’ll have to keep that in mind.” I remarked, Legiqn’s words already supporting my earlier suspicions about the humans and their biases.

   “ _Also_ ”, Legiqn continued after a moment, “ _I have a different meeting with some other people at noon, so I’ll meet you for a moment just to make sure you made it safely to the embassy and then I have to leave_ . _Depending on how it looks though, I may only be able to provide you with a drive by like last time. People are always watching in this Ladet forsaken town._ ”

   I held back a sigh and stopped pacing as Legiqn spoke. Part of me had been hoping that the demon would be in the room with me to at least provide some familiarity during the meeting. If anything, he could’ve given me some emotional support. Considering he wasn’t going to be there, I felt my unease increase just a little more.

   “Okay, that’s fine. Just make sure you give me the signal when I see you.” I reminded the demon, making a mental note to check the area I would wait in for spies when I got there.

   Simply because of my wishes to stay hidden and Legiqn’s famous reputation, we could never meet in a place like the embassy where people could associate me with another demon. In any other area of town, it was fine. In front of that Ladet forsaken building though, I knew there were many politicians and  _disfraquine_ who would jump on the chance to expose me to their higher ups.

   The other end of the phone call made a slight whispering noise as Legiqn began walking around once more.

   “ _I’ll keep an eye out and then I’ll let you know. If that’s everything you had to ask me though, I must get going. I’m late to a meeting with some business representatives here in town_.” Legiqn informed me in a hurried tone.

   “Alright…” I hesitated for a moment. “Jordan?”

   “ _Yeah_?” The demon responded in a gentle voice.

   “Be careful…” I warned him, my tone dropping just a little. The smile that filled the pause was almost visible in front of me as Legiqn chuckled.

   “ _I’ll see you soon Evan_.”

   “See ya.” A click on the other end of the line signaled the ending of the phone call.

   For a moment, I could do nothing but stare down at the phone in my hands.

   Part of me had always appreciated the rogues that came to our territory as friends. Some of them made me nervous simply because I wasn’t familiar with them, but most of them were fun to be around. Legiqn was one of the few I got along with. The fact that he was alone in the human city where he could easily be killed in a back alley somewhere set my nerves on end. I had to remind myself every time I talked to him that he could take care of himself though.

   I shook off a shiver crawling up my spine and sucked in a deep breath, briefly intoxicated by the smell of the vanilla. With aches spiking up all over my body, I put on a nice shirt and turned to make my way out into the hallway.

   I considered going straight downstairs, but I also wanted to check in on Mini to see how he was doing. Making a slight detour, I made my way to Tyler’s room where Mini’s scent lingered the strongest.

   As soon as I got there, I went to knock but stopped when an ominous presence loomed behind me.

   “What are you doing?” A voice rumbled. I prepared myself for the steely blue gaze I knew would be staring down at me as I turned around.

   Slowly, my eyes wandered up a sleep wrinkled gray t-shirt to meet the eyes of Tyler. The alpha stood over me, the outer rims of his eyes glowing with the alpha within.

   “I was just-"

   “You were just what?” The alpha interrupted, his eyes narrowing. “Waking up Craig, who is still exhausted from yesterday, and having him pick up the shift that isn’t yet his. He has another half hour before he’s supposed to be awake. Leave him alone. The fox’ll be fine in the meantime.”

   I watched Tyler’s expression for a moment, noting the darkening bags under his eyes. Over the past few days, I’d kept a close eye on Tyler, Brian, and Mini. For the most part, Moo was doing alright, so I wasn’t too worried about him. The other three still seemed like they were in a lot of pain though.

   Even though Tyler had only received scratches across his back and a few bite marks, I knew that he was also experiencing physical limitations. Moo and Mini had both assured me that Tyler was getting better, but I had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t doing as well as he tried to seem.

   “How’re you doing?” I asked quietly. Tyler glared at me as he straightened. “Are your wounds getting better?”

   “I’m fine.” The alpha insisted.

   Even though he said it, I could see him wince when he moved his shoulders. I raised an eyebrow at him and folded my arms. After a moment, he reached over himself to gently massage his shoulder, casting a reluctant look my way.

   “They hurt. A lot, and they still bleed if I move wrong. Mostly, I’m just sore though.” The alpha muttered reluctantly, his eyes diverting towards the ground. “If my pain is still this intense, I can’t imagine what Mini’s going through. Brock too. He may have been able to heal himself, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t still hurting.”

   I nodded and averted my eyes. Of course, I knew Brock and Mini were both still in pain. I could feel it through our bonds. I wasn’t blind enough or selfish enough to think that I wasn’t the only one in pain.

   The only problem was that I felt like I was the one hurting the others at that moment. It had been my decision to keep the fox and to heal him which was causing their pain. Therefore, it was partially my fault.

   With a sigh, I shook my head and glanced up at Tyler again, allowing some of my emotional barriers to come down for a moment so he could see my sincerity.

   “You know what? You’re strong Tyler.” I admitted in a soft tone. “Even when I’ve gone over the cliff, you’re still there to make sure I don’t hit the bottom. I appreciate that.”

   Tyler blinked, his face going blank. After a moment, he looked away and shrugged in what I assumed was supposed to be nonchalance. The motion ended up conveying more embarrassment than anything though.

   “I’d still let you hit the bottom. It’d be funny.” The alpha muttered without looking up at me. I smiled and shook my head.

   “Whatever ya say big guy. I’ll be back in an hour to wake up Mini. In the meantime, find some pain relievers for both of you. You guys will need it.”

   With that, I turned and made my way downstairs. Tyler’s eyes followed me until I disappeared from eye sight.

   Ever since that first night with the fox, Tyler seemed to be keeping a close eye on me. Somewhere in my mind, I knew why. He still didn’t agree with me about the fox, but he knew I was unstable and growing weaker by the days.

   As I crossed the threshold into the kitchen near the bottom of the stairs, I caught the scent of apples. Turning to look at the island counter, I understood where the scent came from as I glimpsed Panda sitting on a barstool out of the corner of my eye. In front of him sat a plate of food while his phone rested in his hand. His hazel eyes flickered up to look at me for a moment before they went back down to his phone.

   “Good mornin’ Panda.” I greeted the mountain lion as I gathered stuff to make a bowl of cereal.

   “Mornin’ Evan. How’d ya sleep?” He replied, the feeling of his eyes on my back accompanying the click of his phone on the counter. I waited until I finished pouring my milk into my cereal before shrugging.

   “It was decent. At least I slept for once.” I muttered, putting the milk and cereal back in their rightful places. Picking up my bowl, I turned to lean back against the counter and began digging in to my meal.

   “Hey.” Panda piped up after a moment. I glanced up at him with a questioning look. “Do you know what’s going on with Scotty and Marcel?”

   I frowned before shaking my head. “Can’t say I do. You would know more about that than I would.”

   Panda gave me a strange look before sighing. His eyes wandered over to his phone for a moment and, in them, I saw concern. The sight pulled at something in my heart.

   “Are they still snapping at each other?” I asked, ignoring the strange feeling in my chest when Panda nodded.

   “Yeah. Every time I ask Marcel about it though, he ignores me. It’s honestly starting to piss me off. If they have such a problem with each other, they should just duke it out already…” Panda complained before pausing and pointing a finger at me. “Verbally of course. I don’t condone violence between friends.”

   I smiled a little before shrugging. “They’ll get over it. They have before.”

   Panda frowned, his eyes wandering to his phone once more. “I’m not so sure.”

   “Why is that?”

   “Just got a feeling.” Panda shrugged.

   Of course, I’d noticed the tension between Marcel and Scotty these past few days. Ever since the night we found the fox, they’d been snapping at each other’s throats every time they were in the same room together.

   It was unusual to say the least. Normally, the two were practically inseparable. In fact, they’d known each other way before they ever met the rest of us. Anywhere Marcel went Scotty followed, and vice versa. This fact showed a lot in their frequent trips into town.

   Everyone went into town for different things. In fact, there was always at least one person each day who drove into town, whether it was for a movie, the gym, socialization with our other friends, or the likes. With Scotty and Marcel, it was different.

   The two made a trip into town at least three times a week and sometimes stayed for multiple days. It was rare to find them at the house and, even though I knew their personal lives weren’t my business, what set me off was the way they acted about it. Every time I asked them where they’d been or even “did you have fun”, they would get this look on their faces, as if they’d been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Panda occasionally accompanied them, and I got the feeling that he knew exactly what was happening.

   Taking another thoughtful bite of my food, I finished chewing before glancing up at Panda who was staring at his phone as if he expected it to grow legs and start running around.

   “Let me ask you this then. What do you know about their trips into town?” I asked in as much of an apathetic tone as I could muster. Panda hesitated, his eyes flickering up at me.

   “That’s something that you would have to ask them about.”

   “Why can’t _you_ tell me?” I inquired, placing my bowl of cereal behind me so I could lean forward onto the island counter. Panda met my eyes with a solemn sense of disquietude.

   “Why can’t you tell me why you argued to keep the fox?”

   The question made me hesitate as Panda met my eyes levelly. There was no challenge or judgement in those hazel orbs, only curiosity.

   “Everyone can see it Evan.” Panda informed me with a sympathetic look. “Any other time, you would tear a newcomer a new one for hurting anyone, especially Brock or Craig. That you haven’t had a total meltdown yet says something.”

   For a moment, I could do nothing but stare at the mountain lion across from me. Of course, I knew my behavior with the fox was abnormal, but I figured someone would comment on it during the meeting the other day. If anything, I’d expected someone like Tyler or Marcel to question my resolve, not Panda. Still, I could see in the mountain lion’s eyes that he’d been thinking about this question for a while.

   I huffed slightly, my hand coming up to brush the corner of my lips. “Everyone sees it, huh?”

   “Yup.” Panda nodded before sighing. “Just like everyone sees that Scotty and Marcel take a lot of trips into town.”

   “I guess everybody has their secrets.” I murmured, mostly to myself.

   “Indeed, they do.” The mountain lion conceded with a slow nod. “I think you should remember that when you keep your own secrets. Unless you’re willing to give up whatever it is you haven’t been telling us, you shouldn’t force anyone else to give up their secrets.”

   As he spoke, Panda stood and walked towards me with his plate in hand. Slipping past me, he deposited his dishes into the sink behind me and turned to make his way upstairs.

   “Thanks Anthony.” I murmured as he walked away.

   “Anytime.” The mountain lion cast his remark over his shoulder before disappearing up the steps.

   As I sat there, finishing my bowl of cereal, I considered Panda’s words.

   He had a point. For the longest time, I’d kept many secrets from my pack. To expect them to give up their secrets simply because I was curious was selfish. I still hadn’t told them about my leopard’s fits of inferno-induced spasms. Luckily, the only ones who had ever caught a glimpse of the beast laying in my heart was Brian, Scotty, and Moo.

   Moo had met my alpha at least three different times. It was surprising to me that he had stayed by my side for so long despite knowing a small portion of the darker side of me. Even when I did lose control in front of him though, it was only for a moment each time. Brock had never seen the full, unbridled side of me, and I hoped to keep it that way.

   I’d never lost full control before. The closest I had come to that point was two years ago, when I burned down my _Bavsha_ cabin in the northern part of our territory along with a part of the surrounding forest.

   Unfortunately, that was the only time Scotty and Brian had seen me lose myself, but even they hadn’t been the one to step up next to my flames and look me dead in the eyes. It was Brock who had showed no fear. After that incident though, I vowed to myself that no one would ever see that side of me again or even know about it period.

   I kept my secrets. Therefore, I couldn’t be angry at Scotty and Marcel for keeping theirs. Plus, in the past few weeks, I’d already added on even more secrets to my list of things that would probably blow up in my face.

   My thoughts came to a halt as I felt something flare in the back of my mind. I jumped a little as the tension simmered and the smell of frustration hit my nose. For a moment, I hesitated, unsure of where the smell was coming from. Before I could even consider where I was going, my feet automatically led me down to the basement.

   The scents greeted me before the sight, so I knew that Nogla and Lui had already beaten me downstairs. What I didn’t expect was to see Nogla standing between Lui and the couch blocking the fox with his massive wings flared halfway up on either side of him. Lui’s back was turned to me, but I quickly realized that the smell of frustration was coming from him.

   "Move Nogla. I just wanna look at him.” Lui ordered in a dangerously low voice. Nogla simply shook his head without a word, his lips contorted into an uncharacteristic frown.

   “What’s going on?” I called as I walked into the room and immediately made my way towards the confrontation.

   Nogla’s eyes flickered to me briefly before snapping back to Lui when the shapeshifter moved to face me. I stopped moving as soon as Lui turned to look at me, understanding washing over me as we made eye contact.

   Around the shapeshifter’s pupils, a pulsating red ring glowed through the dim morning light. In his eyes, I saw a vague challenge which was accompanied by a hauntingly familiar scent underlying Lui’s natural aroma. My fingertips grew cold as I began maneuvering over to Nogla’s side of the room, towards the fox.

   “What’re you doing down here Lui? I told you guys, Brock and Mini are the only ones allowed here.” I muttered, my body tensing as Lui turned to keep me in his sight. The shapeshifter simply rolled his eyes at my question.

   “I know.” He growled impatiently, the submerged challenge glowing brighter with the red in his eyes as he glared at me. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m not gonna kill him.”

   “No one said anythin’ about you killing him.” Nogla pointed out hesitantly.

   Lui let out a low growl, his gaze wavering momentarily when he tried to give Nogla a half-hearted glare. I glanced back at the fox worriedly as I slipped into a spot between Nogla’s wings and the shapeshifter across the room.

   “If you’re not planning to kill him or hurt him, then what do you want with him?” I questioned the shifter uneasily. Lui blinked before turning towards me, his pupils fluctuating.

   The red rims in his irises made my muscles coil even tighter as the shapeshifter made a half shrug motion, his gaze dropping to the ground. I gave Nogla a worried look to which he responded by lifting his wings a little more.

   “I just wanted to check on him.” Lui muttered, reaching up to roughly rub at his left arm in a gesture I associated with the red in his eyes.

   “Why the hostility then?” I murmured, my heart stuttering as Lui glanced back up at me. The red was starting to consume his irises with slow moving motions the longer he stood there. I knew what I would hear next before he even spoke.

   In a high-pitched voice that should have belonged to a little kid, Lui replied, “He hurt my friends… He could’ve killed them.”

   “He didn’t though.” Nogla assured the shapeshifter without hesitation, even though I could see and feel the shudder rippling through his wings. As my hands grew sweaty, I knew the feeling was mutual.

   “He _could_ have.” Lui insisted, his voice still high and his eyes growing redder by the minute. “Just like the others. Just like everyone else, every single one of them who were slaughtered in cold blood. He could’ve killed them.”

   “It’s alright Lui.” Nogla murmured in a soothing tone, his eyes shimmering with empathy. His wings lowered ever so slightly as he raised a placating hand. “They’re alive. He didn’t kill ‘em. It’s not like the others. Everyone’s safe. Brock, Craig, Tyler, Brian. They’re safe.”

   For a moment, Lui hesitated and I feared that he would snap like he had so many times before. He was too fast for me in this state. If he tried attacking Nogla or the fox right now, especially when Nogla’s wings were beginning to recede, I wouldn’t be able to stop him in time. I hadn’t been able to last time.

   Lui didn’t move though. Instead, he stared up at Nogla, the red in his eyes slowing in their progression as Nogla’s wings fluttered a little and curled in on themselves.

   “They’re alive Lui.” Nogla repeated as he took a step towards the shapeshifter.

   “I’m not-” Lui snapped angrily, both his hands coming down to his sides to ball up into fists, before Nogla cut him off.

   “Yes, you are.” Slowly, Nogla moved around the coffee table to get to the shapeshifter in question. Lui shrunk a little, an impression of fear flitting across his face. “You are Lui Calibre, a shapeshifter known for his great talent in mastering hundreds of forms from all around the world. You are the fastest shifter in Noanric and one of the few who survived the war. You are an amazing friend and a part of the pack that has claimed you as family in every sense of the term. You’re Lui Calibre.”

   Gradually, the scent I had recognized earlier began fading. Lui’s eyes were still partially red, but the color had stopped growing for now and he seemed focused on Nogla, which was a good sign.

   “I am Lui Calibre.” The shapeshifter muttered in a hypnotized tone, his voice reverting back to normal once again.

   I felt a shiver rake my body as Nogla finally got within reaching distance of Lui’s body and his wings glistened in the dim morning light. Gently, he placed a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder. The shapeshifter shuddered as Nogla’s wings arched towards him and gently brushed off each of his shoulders. Within seconds, the red in Lui’s eyes almost completely disappeared and he was left in a daze as Nogla circled him, constantly brushing his wings across Lui’s body.

   Although Lui’s shift had subsided, I could still feel the residual effects of the attack through our bond. It was the first time I’d been made aware of Lui’s other personality in the past year and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the other shapeshifter.

   Much like me, Lui also had a dark, uncontrollable side of him that reared its head every once in a while. The only difference was that I was pretty sure I was born with mine. Lui’s “monster” was an effect of the trauma he went through as a child though.

   Over two decades ago, Lui’s family was attacked during the Shifter War in Eufanha. His entire family was killed that night. Since then, a part of him had never grown up and that side that had remained a child was extremely dangerous. The child in Lui was constantly stuck in a state of fear and anxiety which made him brash and aggressive.

   Whenever Lui got too stressed or feared for someone’s life, it seemed as though he reverted to the child he had once been. The child was powerful though. Needless to say, the people who attacked Lui’s family didn’t make it back out. They probably weren’t even recognizable when child Lui finished with them.

   Fear in the hands of a powerful kid whose only focus is to stop his family from dying again is a dangerous combination.

   Through the years, I’d seen Lui switch several times. Sometimes, the child in him was friendly. Most times though, our meetings ended with the child breaking something or hurting someone. The first few times these switches happened, we’d had no clue how to handle them. For a while, it seemed like the only way to reverse the spells Lui fell under was to restrain him or to fight him until he passed out.

   In the past three years since being in the territory, however, Nogla had figured out how to calm the shifter back into his normal state of conscious without fighting him. He never told us how he did it, but I could tell that whatever Nogla was doing with his wings, it was part of the process.

   “We should take this upstairs…” I suggested after a moment, glancing over at the fox anxiously. The idea of having Lui, whose shift was most likely caused by the demon, was unnerving. Nogla acknowledged my statement with a glance my way.

   “Come on.” The winged creature murmured gently, patting Lui’s shoulders with his wings to direct him backwards. Lui turned obediently, as if on autopilot, and followed the motions to the stairs. I cast a worried glance back at the fox before following them.

   As soon as we got upstairs, Nogla made Lui sit down at the booth seats on the far side of the dining table. Once again, Lui obeyed the directions given to him without question.

   Seemingly satisfied, Nogla walked over to the sink and poured a glass of water. I sat down across from Lui, unsure of what to say as he stared down at his lap. The shapeshifter seemed disoriented.

   “Here.” Nogla handed the cup of water to Lui who looked at it for a moment before taking it. I cast a glance up at the winged creature, glad to find my own concern mirrored in his face.

   “I really was just checking on him.” Lui muttered under his breath as he stared down at his glass of water. Gently, Nogla spread out the wing closest to Lui and made small comforting motions across the shapeshifter’s back which seemed to encourage the smaller man a little.

   “I saw Brock leave a few minutes ago.” Lui continued, his eyes becoming a littler clearer. “I figured the fox needed another guard, but Nogla already beat me there.”

   I looked up at the winged creature next to us, but he was focused on Lui. Personally, I knew Nogla was in support of keeping the fox here. Lui, on the other hand, had still seemed doubtful and angry about it. That alone should have been enough for him to stay away knowing that the fox, someone who had hurt and almost killed his friends, was a potential trigger.

   “Well, your concern is appreciated,” I murmured softly, leaning forward on my elbows, “but I know you’re experience with outsiders. Surely you knew it wasn’t a good idea to go down there on your own.”

   “I know.” Lui responded, his voice sounding weaker than usual as he glared sideways at something on the wall. “I wanted to see how far they’re coming along though.”

   I frowned, my gaze once more turning up to Nogla. He always seemed to know more than anyone, so I wasn’t really surprised to see that he seemed unfazed by Lui’s words.

   For me though, I was still confused. Nothing should have been important enough for Lui to risk seeing the fox while believing that no one else would be there to stop him if he did end up switching.

   My questions were suddenly answered as Lui sighed and snapped his fingers. Seemingly from nowhere, a giant brown book with worn edges and rough pages slammed onto the table in front of me. The red sigil on the front of it glowed as it landed with a loud thud. I jumped at the sound it made, knocking over my chair in the process.

   For a moment, the only thing I could think about was the sudden heat crawling across my arms. There was a split second where I thought I’d set myself on fire again, but I quickly realized that the heat wasn’t coming from me. It was coming from the book.

   My heart felt like it would jump out of my chest as I recognized the book laying on the table in front of me. It was Panda’s spell book, the one he’d been carrying around for years.

   Mountain lions are a rare type of demon. There aren’t many of them in the world. Most likely, this is because most mothers only spend the first two years raising their cub before abandoning them to survive in the real world on their own.

   Panda was one of the few who was unfortunate enough to lose his mother soon after he was born. Therefore, he didn’t have any family to take care of him as a baby.

   Several times, Panda himself had told us about his adopted family. After he was left alone in the wilderness, there was a group of Matvreena, human witches both female and male, which had taken him in and raised him. They taught him potions and spells for many years until he finally decided to try living on his own at the age of 18.

   When he left, Panda took with him his knowledge and a spell book which was cursed to make anyone but verified Matvreena insane. It was a book that only Panda was supposed to hold. Sometimes though, he allowed the pack members to borrow it for various reasons.

   “Why do you have that?” I growled uneasily, staring down at the book as its red sigil glowed brighter. The skin on my forearms itched as its heat increased ever so slightly.

   “I’ve been studying it.” Lui responded, seemingly unfazed by the sheer power held within the book’s cover. I barely noticed Nogla glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

   “Has Panda had a look at ye lately?” The winged creature inquired, his wings shrinking back into his body.

    “No.” Lui shook his head with a guilty look. “I told him I’d give him the book back after a few days.”

   Nogla frowned. “And how long ago was that?”

   For several moments, no one said anything. There seemed to be a unspoken tension between Lui and Nogla as they maintained their silence. Personally, I was more focused on the book still sitting on the counter to notice. Part of me was surprised that neither me nor the book spontaneously combusted right then and there.

   “Answer the question Lui.” Nogla ordered the shapeshifter with a small smack of his wing across Lui’s arm.

   “A few weeks ago.” The shapeshifter growled, diverting his eyes to the empty booth next to him. Nogla glared at him and I felt the same thrill of anger and concern course through me as his wings puffed out a little.

   “Ya know, you of all people aren’t supposed to be in prolonged contact with that thing.” Nogla scolded, a surprising amount of anger in his voice. “It’s no wonder you’re unstable.”

   “Shut up Nogla.” Lui retorted with a sideways glare at the winged creature next to him. “I know, alright? I know I’ve made a mistake by keeping it in my possession, but I learned a lot from it in the past few weeks that I’ve been studying it.”

    “I don’t care how much you’ve learned.” Nogla argued, his eyebrows furrowing together with concern. “You know you shouldn’t have it for so long. That thing is dangerous, especially for you.”

   Lui let out a huff and stared dejectedly at the table in front of him.

   The one indisputable rule Panda had placed on the book was that we return it within 2-3 days of having it. After that point, the curse on the book would start making us insane and then they would kill us.

   It was a gradual process. The spells protecting the book were made to coax the reader into a sense of greediness and a lust for knowledge. Whoever held it never wanted to give it up after a certain time period. It was at that point that the book started feeding off a person’s sanity. The longer a person held onto it, the more likely they were to kill everyone else or themselves.

   Panda had the ability to displace these spells for a few days, but he couldn’t hold it off for very long. Considering Lui had been holding onto it for several weeks, I was surprised that he hadn’t switched to his child persona sooner.

   “I would say you should give it to me and I’ll take it off your hands, but we remember the last time I touched it, I’m sure.” I muttered in a low tone. Nogla and Lui both winced and looked away while I continued staring at the offending book in front of me.

   I’d only ever touched the book once. Before then, I’d had no use for it. I knew about the heat it gave off back then, but I didn’t think it would affect me considering no one else seemed too bothered by it.

   The moment my fingertips touched the leather, I remember hearing a loud explosion and seeing the cover burst into flames right under my nose. I dropped it immediately and I remember the sinking feeling of guilt and shame as Panda rushed forward to put out the fire. The book remained intact afterwards, but Panda was pissed to say the least.

   Now that it was in sight again, I remembered that the book had something to offer as it sat there, staring at me.

   “The other day, Brock mentioned that we could use the book to help us speed the healing process with the fox. The spell book also has the bone binder spell we need.” I mused after a moment, noting the small shift in Lui’s posture.

   “I thought about that.” The shapeshifter admitted reluctantly. “I figured Moo and Mini couldn’t use the spells until they finally got the bleeding closed off and the fox was in a more stable condition though. That’s what I was trying to check on this morning.”

   “But, you didn’t want to ask us and avoid a potential trigger because you knew we’d discover that you’ve been keeping the spell book.” Nogla surmised as I made the same connections in my head. Lui hesitated before nodding.

   “Why hasn’t Panda gotten after you already?” I asked as I bent over to grab the chair I’d knocked over earlier and sat down on it a safe distance from the table where the book still sat.

   Lui shrugged as Nogla glared at him. “Probably forgot.”

   “Panda wouldn’t forget about something like that.” I pointed out, my eyes narrowing as Lui tilted his head, a look of disbelief crossing his face.

   “Between whatever the hell is going on with Scotty and Marcel and the situation with the fox, is it really that surprising that he would forget?” The shifter argued with a pointed look at Nogla. The winged creature continued glaring at the shapeshifter as he shook his head.

   “Either way, we have to find Panda and give it to him.” Nogla asserted. “He’s the only one who can handle the incantations without going insane like the rest of us.”

   “Anthony was in here the last time I saw him,” I informed the two demons, “but he most likely went to find Scotty or Marcel in their usual spots. I can text him to find out where he is.”

   “Let him know we’re looking for him.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket as Nogla spoke. “If not, we’ll have to find him.”

   Turning, Nogla tapped Lui on the shoulder and motioned for him to get up. The shapeshifter didn’t move. Instead, his gaze stayed resolutely focused on the book still sitting on the table.

   “What about the book? Evan can’t touch it and… I can’t either.” Lui murmured, a speck of red thrumming through his eyes.

   “I’ll take it.” Nogla piped up before I could say anything. I stared up at him in disbelief.

   “Are you kidding me?” I growled uneasily. “We still aren’t sure what it does to you.”

   “As long as I don’t handle it for more than an hour, I’m fine.” Nogla assured me with a placating wave of his hand. “I can even use my jacket to wrap it up so I don’t have to touch it directly.”

   I hesitated for a moment, not entirely sure if I should let Nogla be anywhere near the book. He was strange in ways that were similar to me. We both seemed to have a hidden past that neither of us could remember and that was part of the reason why I sent him on missions with Lui to find my past. Normally, I would reject the idea of him handling the book with vehemence but, at that moment, I just wanted to get it away from me.

   When it was clear that no one was going to object, Nogla stripped off the gray jacket he was wearing and stepped forward. Lui and I watched with bated breath as he gingerly wrapped up the book in the soft cloth.

   Nothing happened. There wasn’t a sudden burst of energy like there had been with me or a change in the temperature around us like when Moo held it. I did feel the heat from the book dissipate ever so slightly as it was covered, but that was the only difference. It was pretty underwhelming if I’m honest.

   Some sort of deep seated spell seemed to lift from Lui as soon as the book became hidden by the jacket. I frowned when he sighed and stood as if he hadn’t been staring, unblinkingly, at the book for the past five minutes.

   “Who’s going to translate the spells?” Lui inquired, his mood already seeming to shift for the better.

   “Panda will have to read them off to us.” Nogla responded as he cradled the jacket covered book against his chest and gave Lui a glare.

   “There’s no way we’re letting you hold onto that thing any longer.” I piped up, glancing over at the other shapeshifter. Lui’s eyes pulsed a little and he rolled his eyes.

   “Party Pooper.” He muttered in his little kid voice. This time, there was no malice there. Just innocent mischief.

   “That’s right.” I averred with a firm nod to shake off my unease. “Now, get out of here before I put you in a hook foot.”

   Nogla and Lui both grimaced as they turned to leave. Just before he left, Lui cast a strange look back at me before leaving through the front door with Nogla just behind him.

   As their smells faded, I glanced over at the table where the book had been sitting not too long ago. There were no burn marks like I’d expected. It was almost as if it hadn’t been there at all.

   In more ways than one, I felt like the book related to me. The heat, the mystery, the insanity. It all reminded me of parts of myself that, at the time, I was too scared to acknowledge. There were instincts harbored deep within me that shared something with the book. What that something was, I wasn’t sure.

   Glancing over at the clock, I noted that half an hour had already passed since I talked to Tyler last. It was time for Mini to start his shift.

   With a sigh, I got up from my seat and headed upstairs.

   Almost as soon as I raised my hand to knock on Tyler’s door, it swung open to reveal the tall alpha himself. The electric blue in his eyes combined with the scent of stress made my hair stand on end, but I kept a straight face.

   “Hi Tyler.” I greeted him. The alpha stared at me for a moment, his expression neutral while his eyes glowed intimidatingly.

   “Who is it Tyler?” A voice called from within the room. I recognized the pitch of Mini’s tone and the sweet honey scent seeping out to waft across my nose.

   I stayed at the door for a moment, aware of the territorial way Tyler was blocking me from seeing into the room. It was obvious that he didn’t want me to be anywhere near _his_ beta at the moment, but he was going to have to deal with it.

   Several heartbeats passed before I worked up the courage to slip around Tyler and head into the room beyond. I could feel the alpha hovering behind me as he followed me in.

   “Oh hi Evan.” Mini bubbled with enthusiasm. I couldn’t help but smile a little when I glimpsed the beta sitting on the edge of Tyler’s bed out of the corner of my eye.

   He was wearing a black shirt which was wrinkled in the same ways Tyler’s had been that morning. His face seemed less pale than when I’d seen him yesterday, but he still looked tired.

   “Hi Mini. How are you feeling?”

   Mini simply shrugged, his face contorting in pain when he dropped his shoulders back down. The beta gave me a weary smile.

   “Little fatigued, kinda tired, but I’ll manage.”

   “How are your bandages doing?” I inquired as I walked towards the rolling chair next to Tyler’s desk and sat down. “I can get extras if you need to redress the wounds.”

   “I almost don’t need the bandages anymore.” Mini admitted in an energetic tone despite the paleness of his skin. “The bleeding stopped sometime yesterday. Now, it’s just the flesh that needs healing.”

   I nodded a little as I rolled my chair across the floor to his side. “Can I see?”

   “It’s pretty gnarly. I’m not sure-” Mini started but hesitated as he caught something in my expression.

   Suddenly, his scent spiked and I felt an instinctive calm begin to settle over my body. I hadn’t even realized that I was tense up until that point. Off to my side, I could see that the smell had the opposite effect on Tyler who began producing an uneasy growl in his chest. The sound made my skin prickle.

   Mini turned to give the other alpha an uncertain look. “Is it alright if I show him?”

   Normally, Mini was very independent. He never relied on Tyler to do anything for him if he could do it himself. I knew why he was now though as Tyler’s eyes glowed brighter. It wasn’t Tyler Mini was asking permission from. It was the alpha in Tyler, the one that was producing the growls.

   Several moments passed before Tyler made his way over to Mini and reluctantly offered a hand. Mini took it, briefly glancing up at the alpha before standing.

   As Mini came to his feet, the two stood mere inches apart. Tyler towered over the beta, but Mini didn’t hesitate to give the alpha a steady, reassuring look. The intimacy with which they treated each other in that moment made heat flush through my cheeks.

   “It’s alright Tyler.” Mini murmured gently, a soothing note purring through his voice. Tyler huffed in a way that was so tiger-like that I was partially convinced his human form was an illusion.

   “Just for a minute.” Mini beseeched the alpha.

   Tyler continued producing that uncomfortable sound in his chest, but he seemed to hesitate nonetheless. After a moment, and with a gentleness that bordered on intimate, he threaded his fingers under the bottom of the beta’s shirt.

   Carefully, Mini lifted his arms and Tyler stepped in front of him. In one sweeping motion, Tyler quickly lifted the cloth up and over the beta’s head. The action was done with ease, as if they had done it a million times. I had to turn away when I realized that the two probably did have a lot of practice considering they were boyfriends.

   “Tyler.” Mini groaned, his voice blocked by the figure between us. After a moment, I could feel Tyler move, but he maintained a protective distance from Mini as I turned to look at the beta.

   Mini kept a careful eye on Tyler’s face while he turned for me to see his left side. I stepped forward with caution, all too aware of Tyler’s shift in stance and the lower note in his growling. If I made a wrong move, I didn’t know what he would do. So, I proceeded with extreme attentiveness.

   Without looking at me, Mini lifted his arm to reveal a long white bandage spanning the length of his left side. The bandage seemed a little old, as if he had slept with it on. Assuming that it would have to be changed anyway, I reached forward, ignoring the increase in Tyler’s tension, and peeled back a corner of the bandage under Mini’s armpit.

   Careful not to hurt him, I pulled the bandage back a little more to look underneath.

   Just under the white cloth, sat the beginnings of four claw marks wider than one of my fingers. The edges didn’t look red, meaning there was no infection, but the skin still seemed raw and the wounds were definitely deep.

   Nausea began building up in my stomach as I backed away from the beta. Tyler took my place immediately, blocking me from Mini once again as he peeled the rest of the bandage off his beta. Mini made a sound of displeasure mixed with pain as Tyler finished. From around the alpha’s tall figure, I could barely see the rest of Mini’s wound which spanned from his hips to his armpit.

   Tyler made sure to keep what little blood was on the bandage away from Mini’s gaze as he folded it. As soon as he finished, he glared up at me with an unspoken challenge in his eyes. I understood the message hidden therein as he glanced back at Mini.

   Seemingly satisfied with himself, Tyler left the room to dispose of the cloth in his hands. Tension released itself from my shoulders as he left.

   “You’ve been making sure to let it air out right?” I asked Mini as I retreated to the other side of the room and sat down on the rolling chair I’d been sitting in before.

   “Yeah.” Mini nodded as he lifted his arm to look at the wound. “I spent most of last night without a bandage on it or a shirt on.”

   “That’s hot.” I murmured under my breath. Mini let out a laugh which warmed my heart as I glanced up to see his broad smile. “On a serious note though, why aren’t you healing faster?”

   “You mean, why am I not healing as fast as Brock did.” Mini clarified with a raised eyebrow. I nodded. “Personally, I don’t have the strength to heal as fast as Brock did. We figured yesterday that the only reason his throat healed faster was because he had the energy to fix it at the time that it was inflicted, _and_ it was a life-threatening wound. Plus, the adrenaline in his veins probably helped speed the process.”

   “In other words, you don’t have any adrenaline in your body like Moo did and your body doesn’t consider your wounds life-threatening right now. Which means it's taking a lot longer.” I surmised uneasily. Mini tilted his head a little.

   “Basically, yeah. It doesn’t help that I’ve spent a lot of energy on the fox as well instead of using it to heal myself.”

   A pang of guilt lanced through me as Tyler came walking in with a bottle of water and some fresh bandages. The alpha glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, obviously noting the distance I was carefully maintaining between me and Mini.

   After a moment, Tyler crouched down next to Mini while the beta drank some water. Gently, he poked at the wound that covered Mini’s side. The beta lifted his arm for Tyler to get a better look, wincing when Tyler touched a sensitive spot.

   “Why don’t you take a break if it's so bad?” I murmured lowly, guilt pricking my heart with even more intensity. Mini shrugged a little.

   “Moo needs my help.”

   “But-“

   “But nothing Evan.” Mini interrupted with a firm glare my way. “I told you. My body doesn’t consider my wound life-threatening. In that case, I shouldn’t treat it as one. The fox is the one with the life-threatening wounds. My strength may not be used for my health, but it’s being used to save someone else. That’s fine by me.”

   “You should at least try to take a little bit of a break.” It was my instincts talking more than me at this point. Mini and I both knew that if he took a break now, we would lose a lot of progress. He wouldn’t back down knowing that. Still crouched in front of the beta, I could see Tyler shift.

   “The more breaks I take, the more likely it is that the fox will die, or Moo will pass out trying to save him.” Mini explained, his expression growing solemn. “You know he’d do it.”

   Of course he would. Brock was many things, selfless being one of the more destructive traits in his personality. I’d seen it happen before where Brock exhausted himself trying to help other people. Part of me always felt as though this was a result of being forced to watch a lot of his prison mates die before his very eyes.

   “You need something that will at least alleviate some of the stress then.” I suggested, shifting in my seat. “What if we took you to someone else, like Aniani, and had her help you heal the rest of your wounds?”

   To the east of us lay a pack known as the Bulkamren pack. Their leader was Mentias, a hard headed wolf who was as powerful as she was stubborn. Her second in command, Aniani, was much more agreeable and sympathetic towards us. The she-wolf had helped us many times in the past.

   “No.” Mini muttered with a shake of his head. “Mentias wouldn’t allow me to cross the border. You know that.”

   “What if Aniani came here then?” I proposed. Mini sighed and glanced up at Tyler when the alpha stood to grab a tube of ointment sitting on his night stand.

   “As much as I know she would help, Mentias wouldn't want her precious resources wasted on someone like me.”

   I grimaced at his words, knowing he spoke the truth. Tyler made a similar face as he crouched next to Mini once more.

   Most of the packs that lived around us didn’t like the fact that we were subgenders. Just like the rest of the world, they saw us as dangerous imperfections, too broken to be saved. Personally, I had only proved their point two years ago when I burned down my cabin.

   With a gentle motion, Mini reached down to brush Tyler’s hands. The alpha let out a huff, some unseen tension releasing itself from his crouched posture as he worked. The beta smiled a little before turning back to me.

   “I know you guys are worried, but I'll be fine.” He assured us. “Plus, what I really need right now is to get my hair redone. That’s what I need.”

   “Well, I guess you’re in luck.” I sighed reluctantly, momentarily comforted by the fact that Mini was one of the two who knew my true intentions for going into town. I could talk to him about it. “I’m going into town later today if you wanna hitch a ride with me.”

   “Oh yeah huh…” Mini murmured, sharing a knowing look with me. “I’ll go with you then.”

   “You should really stay and rest Craig.” Tyler spoke up for the first time since I’d arrived as he stood.

   “I’m done resting.” Mini argued, turning to face Tyler with a determined look. “I can’t rest anymore.”

    Tyler’s shoulders seemed to fail in strength as he sighed and shook his head. “I’ll go find us something to eat then.”

   With that, he turned and left once more. I watched him go with trepidation, still making sure to keep my distance from Mini when he left. Even though Tyler seemed to be calming down, I didn't want to overstep my bounds.

   “When are you going into town?” Mini asked after a moment.

   “Legiqn told me to be there at noon.” I replied, folding my arms over my chest while Mini found a new shirt and tossed it onto Tyler’s bed.

   “So, we should leave in the next hour.”

   “That’d probably be best.”

   “Is this adventure into town what I think it is?” Mini inquired, casting a glance my way. I nodded.

   “Yeah.”

   Mini’s lips curled down into a small frown. The smell of agitation singed my nose as his eyes flickered with concern.

   “I don’t want to give away too much to the others, so I’ll tell you this now.” Stepping forward, Mini reached out and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I froze in place as he squeezed me. “Be careful when you go in there Evan. Humans are dangerous.”

   After a moment, the beta released me and took a step back to look into my eyes. I could do nothing but stand there and stare at him. The beta didn’t seem bothered though. Instead, he simply smiled and turned to leave the room.

   A shiver raked my spine as Mini left. My feeling of comfort faded with him, leaving behind the earlier smell of stress that I’d noticed when Tyler first opened the door.

  For a moment, I stood and glanced around the room. I wasn't sure what was causing Tyler to stress out so much. Obviously, he was worried about Mini, but there had to be something more. Briefly, I wondered if they were still stressing about the same issues as before.

   A mild headache started up right around the crown of my skull as I left the room and made my way downstairs. I considered going to the kitchen or the gaming room, but my feet led me to the front door instead. I made my way out to the porch, gently closing the door behind me.

   The first thing to greet me as I walked outside was the smell of fresh rain. Giant towering trees stood around our house in a protective ring and every single one of them seemed to glisten with vibrancy. Every article of plant life was almost in full bloom, their half-formed leaves shimmering with rain water. The sight settled something in my chest as I took in a deep breath.

   Off to my side, the sound of a twig snapping got my attention. I glanced over at the bushes under the trees close by in time to see a stout, muscular mountain lion with black streaked cheeks come stalking out. I waited for the demon to shift back before greeting him.

   “Hey Panda. Did Nogla and Lui find you?” I asked, leaning over the edge of the railing which lined the porch.

   “Yeah, and they gave this back.” Panda responded, pulling the spell book from earlier out of his back pocket. It looked much smaller than the last time I’d seen it, only spanning the width of the palm it was held in.

   “Good.” I murmured, knowing by the size alone that Anthony had already cast more protective spells over it to keep it nearly undetectable. “Did they tell you what I wanted to do with it?”

   “Yeah.” Panda affirmed as he came up the steps of the porch to stand next to me. “If you want me to translate the proper spells Evan, you should probably gather a list of stuff Craig and Brock will need so I can get them the information they’ll use.”

   “I leave for town with Mini in an hour.” I remarked lightly, barely noticing the way the book was kept out of my reach. “Brock also wanted to talk to me before that. All four of us can meet downstairs before we leave in the next hour if that’s alright with you.”

   “Perfect. I’m gonna take a shower and then I’ll be down to talk to you guys.” Panda informed me as he made his way into the house.

   “Sounds good.” I murmured, my voice followed by the quiet click of the front door shutting once more.

   For a moment, I sat there, contemplating my next course of action. I still had another fifteen minutes or so to kill before I had to wake up Brock. Therefore, I spent that time sitting in one of the chairs on the porch and watching the world move around me.

   The rain clouds in the sky were beginning to fade from their intimidating black hues. More sunlight was starting to shine through the enormous water masses as the morning continued and the world grew warmer. I drew comfort in knowing that I probably wouldn’t have to drive in the rain. Panlyog was a good 45 minute drive away from the house. I didn’t want to have to spend it on rain filled back roads.

   I continued observing everything around me for a while. At some point though, my eyes lead me to look at a spot in the tree branches over the house. In it, I saw a pair of beady black eyes staring down at me.

   Somewhere in my mind, I recognized the bird as a blue jay, but there was something else that drew me to stare up at the bird. Something about the blueness of its feathers.

   I could feel my heart beat faster as I realized that the blue meant something. Somewhere deep down in my heart, it held some sort of purpose, some symbol. The blue was something that I recognized on an instinctual level. I couldn’t remember where I’d seen the color before or why it was so entrancing, but the feeling was there.

   It wasn’t until the blue jay exploded into the air in a blinding flurry of brilliant blue feathers that I felt the heat crawling through my skin. With a hiss, I shoved the feeling back under my current of thoughts and stood to shake myself. The heat disappeared completely soon after, at least enough for me to consider going back inside.

   As soon as I got back in the house, I smelled something off. My nose led me to the living room where I glimpsed a ginger brown head sitting on one of the couches. A flicker of unease sparked through my fingertips as I approached the werecat.

   "Hey Brian?” I called, stopping next to the couch to look down at him. The blue gaze that rested on me was one filled with an emotion I wasn't entirely familiar with.

   “Yeah?” Brian muttered with a quirked eyebrow.

   “Could you wake up Brock here in the next half hour and send him down to the basement?” I asked, already expecting the change in posture from the werecat as he turned to glare at me.

   “You’re gonna work them into the ground at this rate.”

   “That’s what I’m trying to avoid.” I winced, shrinking from the heat of the werecat’s gaze.

   “That’s not good enough.” Brian growled, standing and walking straight out of the room before I could say anything else. I watched him leave, feeling my heart sink to my feet.

   When I’d made the decision to keep the fox three days ago, I knew there would be consequences. Tensions had been evident from the moment the fox attacked the patrol who had been following him. I knew there would be problems.

   As I stood there, watching Brian leave, I felt a new sense of desperation claw at my heart though. There was so much guilt and shame built up in my chest that I felt like I would have to throw it all up or swallow the bile in my throat before I could rid myself of it.

   I knew I had to protect the fox. From the very first moment I’d seen him, I knew it was my sworn duty. Nothing, no matter how hard I tried to fight it would allow me to deny that the fox was my person to look after. I had to keep him alive and safe. Despite the fatigue, despite the anguish I felt for protecting him against most of my pack’s wishes, I couldn’t bring myself to be angry with him.

   With a heavy heart, I made my way downstairs to wait for the others. The sight of the fox made me happy in some ways, sad in others.

   As I caught sight of his small figure resting on the blankets, I felt once more a protective urge rise through my chest and swirl around my sadness. It was a bittersweet feeling. In my head, I knew I was doing the right thing by keeping him alive and that made me smile a little. It was the look that Brian had given me that felt wrong though.

   Slowly, I approached the fox and sat down on the couch in front of his head. His body was limp, just like it had been the last few times I’d seen him. Through the necklace around my leopard’s neck though, I could feel his heartbeat without touching his physical body. At some hours, it was stronger than most, but it was still weak. The fox still had a while before he would be okay and I could stop worrying about him. It would be a while before I could make my pack happy again.

   Tears stung at my eyes as I reached forward to brush my fingers across the fox’s cheek. His fur was surprisingly soft, but there was still some blood that clung to the strands around his head. Yesterday, I had made the same gesture and he was cold. Now though, I could feel some warmth returning to the fox’s body.

   The smell of cinnamon washed over my nose just as the stairs creaked on the other side of the room. I sniffled a little and swallowed the lump in my throat as I turned to see Brock.

   The beta came down the stairs with his eyes half closed and his steps slow and deliberate. A gray shirt and a pair of sweatpants clung to his figure, creases in them marking the nap he’d probably just woken up from. His hair was getting longer, I realized. It was beginning to stand in small spikes all over his head.

   “Mornin’ Brock.” I murmured as he reached the bottom of the stairs. With one last sweep through the fox’s fur, I stood and walked over to him.

   “Hi Evan.” The beta replied in a gruff voice as he waited for me to reach him.

   “How are you?” I inquired, noting the small pinch in the corner of Brock’s lips as he considered his response.

   “Decent.” He murmured before clearing his throat. “We should wait for Mini to get down here so he can help me explain what we’ve accomplished.”

   “Panda should be down here soon as well.” I informed the beta. He blinked and squinted down at me.

   “Is he bringing the spell book?”

   I nodded. “Yeah. We’re hoping to use it to find some spells that will help you guys with the fox.”

   “Even if we don’t, you shouldn’t be concerned. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Brock reassured me, gently patting me on the shoulder. The motion made me want to shrink into myself.

   “I don’t doubt that, but…” I trailed off uncertainly.

   “Stop worrying so much Evan. You’re gonna get gray hairs.” Moo reprimanded me with one last playful pat on my shoulder. “I’m fine.”

   “Brian-“

   “I don’t care if Brian’s mad.” Brock snapped abruptly, his eyes in a sudden blaze as he glared sideways at me. “He doesn’t understand.”

   I didn’t have a chance to question the beta before Mini came down stairs with Tyler hovering just behind him. Immediately, my gaze transferred to them as the scent of another alpha came across my nose.

   Tyler looked stressed and his scent proved it, but Mini seemed energetic. Somehow, the beta always managed to look happy even though I knew he must feel like Death incarnate.

   “Mornin’ Brock!” Mini exclaimed as he walked in with a wave.

   “Mornin’ Mini. How’d you sleep?” Brock responded, his voice losing the edge it had contained not even two seconds beforehand. The change made me more than a little dizzy as I listened to Mini’s response.

   “Well, I fell asleep, so that’s a plus.”

   “And your wounds?” Moo asked, walking over to Mini. I blinked away my spell of confusion to keep an eye on Tyler’s posture, taking note of the low growl I could hear from across the room. Brock didn’t seem to notice or, if he did, he didn’t acknowledge the intimidating alpha above him.

   Mini glanced back at Tyler reassuringly while Brock lifted the beta’s shirt. There weren’t any fresh bandages on it yet, so the entire wound was completely exposed to the eye. I glared at the ground angrily as I caught sight of the four long claw marks adorning Mini’s side.

   Moo gave a small hum, touching a spot on the edge of one of the claw marks before gently putting Mini’s shirt back down. Briefly glancing up at Tyler who was still growling, he took a cautionary step back.

  “They look like they’re doing good.” Brock remarked, placing his hands on his hips. “Any pain or dizziness?”

   “Just a little pain, but I’m doing good.” Mini responded with a smile.

   Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the dirty look Tyler gave the fox across the room. Instinctively, I shifted towards the couch that separated me from the mound of blankets on the other side. Tyler noticed my movement and glared at me irritably. I ignored the chill that raced down my spine.

   “Did you finish what we were working on last night?” Mini asked as I tuned into the conversation between the two betas in front of me once more. Confusion swirled through my chest, the feeling mirrored on Tyler’s face who glanced at me one last time out of the corner of his eye.

   “I succeeded.” Brock responded with a surprising amount of conviction and triumph in his voice.

   Mini’s expression dropped in disbelief for a moment before quickly morphing into a wide grin. The beta let out an excited squeak and immediately rushed forward to capture Moo in his arms. Brock tensed a little, some of his awkwardness pouring into the hug, but Mini didn’t seem to mind.

   The only thing that interrupted the two betas was the sound of footsteps on the staircase leading upstairs accompanied by the smell of apples. I glanced up to see Panda’s dark hair and beard appear as he walked in with a smile.

   “Did someone get roasted or did Brock just admit he has a small dick?”

   “Neither.” Brock responded immediately causing laughter amongst Mini and Panda. Mini released the other beta with a grin and, just behind him, I could see Tyler’s lips twitch with amusement.

   “Now that we’re all down here, what did you need to talk about Moo?” I asked the beta as I slipped once more into the ring of people growing in front of the staircase.

    “We’ve made a lot of progress on the fox.” Mini informed me enthusiastically. Moo nodded in agreement as all eyes turned to the two betas.

    Last night, Mini and I were still working on stopping the bleeding.” Brock started, glancing over at the beta next to him. “This morning, I finally managed to stop most of the bleeding. The fox is stable and his wounds have finally started making scabs. His head is the only thing still causing problems, but it’s shut for now, which is more than I’ve been able to say these past few days.”

   A ripple of surprise whispered through Panda and Tyler, their feelings momentarily combining with my own sense of anticipation. For the past three days, stopping the bleeding had been our main problem. Now, we were one step closer to healing the fox completely. I glanced back at the demon on the mound of blankets as Moo continued.

   “The only thing still causing issues is his head, but we barely know anything about healing bone or burns. We won’t be able to begin permanent repairs on any of the bigger wounds until we get Panda’s spell book.” Moo informed us, glancing at the mountain lion with a questioning look.

   “Lucky for you, I have it right here in my possession.” Panda proclaimed, pulling out the familiar little book from earlier.

   With it in hand, the mountain lion backed up a little and sat down on one of the last steps leading upstairs. Bright white sparks lit up his fingertips and, suddenly, the book in his hands went back to its usual size. I kept my distance as he began leafing through the pages, my body already responding to the heat I could feel coming from the book.

   “What spells do you guys need?” Panda asked, even though he already seemed to know where he was going in the book. Mini and Moo gave each other contemplative looks.

   “Well, the guys got some nasty third degree burns on him. Let’s start there.” Mini suggested, leaning forward towards Panda. His feet stayed rooted in place, but he still tried to peak over the top of the book as we started brainstorming ideas.

   “For the burns, we’ll probably need the nerve formulas for sure.” Brock mused, his eyes focused on the ceiling above him.

   I nodded. “You might also need some muscle repair spells for some of the wounds.”

   “True,” Moo conceded with a frown, “but I think we should deal with those later. His legs will be easy to heal. His back and his head on the other hand are gonna be a bitch to stitch back together.”

   “If you guys start with the legs first though and get some practice in healing the burns, it’ll be easier to do his back and then you guys can concentrate on his head.” I proposed with a glance at Anthony.

   “Actually,” the mountain lion murmured, his fingers pausing on one page in particular, “I don’t think you guys should focus on the burns at all right now.”

   “Why?” Moo inquired, turning his attention to Panda.

   “Well, think about it.” Panda reasoned with a gesture towards the fox. “Right now, your main issue with the bleeding is what’s coming out of his head. If you guys can get at least half way into recreating the bone and stop the bleeding there for good, then you’ll be like ten steps ahead of the game.”

   “Healing bone also takes more energy though.” I pointed out, my body already aching at the deadly thought of having to put out energy for the two betas to siphon off. “The longer you guys take on recreating the bone, the more likely it’ll be that you guys get too exhausted to continue closing off the bleeding on the rest of his body.”

   “Evan has a point.” Moo averred as he shifted on his feet.

   “But,” Mini argued, “if we don’t heal the head trauma as soon as possible, we’ll end up exhausting ourselves a lot sooner trying to close off the bleeding from his burns and his head. It takes a lot more energy to close off the bleeding in the long run than it does to recreate the bone molecules first. Yes, healing his head first will be harder, but it won’t be as taxing on us in the end.”

   “It may take more energy, but the work will get done faster if we go for the head.” Panda acknowledged, casting a grateful look Mini’s way.

   “Good point.” I admitted reluctantly, glancing over at the fox again.

   “Either way, you guys need the muscle, nerve, and bone formulas. Luckily, I think I already have all of those marked.” Panda told us as he flipped to three specific pages and placed little pieces of lace in each of the places.

   While he worked, I considered the whole energy crisis. Healing the bone first was definitely going to be taxing on Mini and Moo. I couldn’t give them any energy though. It would be suicide to attempt giving them energy while keeping the fox alive. They had to have some other source.

   “Panda.” I murmured slowly as I thought through my next words carefully. The mountain lion glanced up at me with curiosity.

   “Yeah?”

   “Is there any way you could make potions that could enhance Mini and Moo’s energy levels?” I inquired. Panda hesitated, his eyes flickering to the ground as he thought about it.

   The mountain lion had learned a lot about spells while he was with the Matvreena. During his studies though, he’d never had much experience with potions. Nowadays, he was trying to learn about them through the book in his hands, but most of his potions came out to be flawed in some ways. The only reason I suggested it now was because I knew Panda had succeeded in making energy potions before.

   “Yes.” The mountain lion answered after a moment, his expression still uncertain. “I can’t give them too much though. The stuff I make can be deadly if it’s taken too often. I still haven’t figured out how to dilute the whole passing out thing that happens.”

   I resisted the grimace pulling at the muscles in my face as I remembered the last time Panda had used the potion. In his defense, Marcel had been very weak. Panda did save him from getting hurt, but that didn’t stop the tiger from passing out for three days straight.

   “So, we should only use it if it’s absolutely necessary.” I mused, not entirely enthralled with the answer. If it came down to it, I had to ask myself, would I prefer my probable demise or the possible death of my betas if they took too much? I knew the answer before the question even crossed my mind.

   “If it’s a decision between you guys drinking the potion and you guys passing out from exhaustion, then yes. You should use the potion.” Panda murmured with a nervous chuckle as he glanced up at Mini and Moo.

   “Speaking of energy, you guys haven’t even talked about how the fox is going to get his energy.” Tyler piped up for the first time since he’d came downstairs. Everyone’s attention turned to him, meaning none of them noticed the momentary panic which probably showed on my face.

   Tyler glanced around at everyone with a confused expression. “He can’t eat or drink anything. How’s he supposed to get his energy to keep surviving?”

   “I did not think of that.” Mini murmured, his eyes growing wide as he stared at the ground.

   “We don’t have the resources or knowledge to force food or water down his throat.” Tyler point out uncertainly. “Am I really the only one who thought of that?”

   Everybody in the room seemed dumbfounded, and for good reason. None of them had considered this fact. I hadn’t either, but that was only because I knew how the fox was getting his energy to survive. I was the only one in the world in that moment that knew how the fox was still breathing without food or water right now. In my mind’s eye, I could feel the necklace glow a little.

   “Seriously?” Tyler muttered in a baffled tone. “Did you guys really think that we’d wave our magic fingers and he would somehow survive, even if we did heal him?”

   “No actually.” Moo proffered, his gaze flickering over to Tyler before he looked over his shoulder at the fox. “I’ve been thinking about it. That’s why I’m glad the potions were brought up.”

   Panda seemed to catch on to Moo’s implications before anyone as he began leafing through the book in his lap once more.

   “I think I might have a potion that could be used as a supplement for food and water.” The mountain lion offered, his hazel eyes searching each page in his hands with a familiar look of concentration. After a moment, he seemed to find what he was looking for.

   “Here it is.” Panda practically shouted, standing from his seat with a smile as he squinted at the words on the page. “It’s called… liar- lirca- liyrcans... _lrycansav_. I think I might be able to get most of the herbs for it from my personal stash and from Nogla’s garden.”

   “Are Nogla’s plants even ready to be harvested yet?” Brock queried uncertainly.

   “The ones I need don’t need to be ripe.” Panda reassured him with a smug grin on his face.

   “We would still have to force him to drink it.” Tyler pointed out, folding his arms across his chest. “If you guys mess up, he could end up choking considering how weak he is.”

   Panda paused, his smile fading a little. The mountain lion pursed the corner of his lips and let out a small sigh. Moo and Mini both seemed to sink into some sort of deep thought as well.

   Above their heads, I could see Tyler glaring at me. I glanced up at him, a strange sense of disquietude pricking my stomach as I caught sight of the anger hidden therein.

   Ignoring the alpha, I ran a hand through my hair and made a considerable hum when an idea dawned on me.

   “Could you figure out how to get the potion to sink into his skin?” I asked quietly, not entirely sure what response I would get.

   I resisted the urge to shrink into myself as everyone’s eyes turned to me. Instead of thinking about my discomfort, I focused on Panda’s gaze as he tilted his head.

   “Maybe.” The mountain lion murmured, his hand resting on his lips as he thought about it. “I might have to consult Nogla on that one. He would know more than I do. He always does.”

   “Would anything from town help you?” I asked, glancing over at Mini. The beta gave me a contemplative look while Panda glanced down at the book in his arms.

   “I don't think so.” The mountain lion answered. “Not right now at least.”

   I opened my mouth to respond when Panda turned to look at something at the top of the stairs. The scent of honeydew wafted down just as a pair of black socks stepped into my field of vision. Brian’s figure appeared moments later and Panda stepped out of the way to make room for him in our makeshift circle.

   Immediately, I noticed the same expression I hadn't been able to place earlier on the werecat’s face. Except, this time, I realized that it was directed towards Moo. The beta refused to look at the other werecat and I was suddenly reminded of the way Brock spoke about Brian when he first came downstairs.

   “Make sure you text us if you do need anything.” Mini prompted after a moment, waving his phone in the air. I glanced over at him before turning my gaze back to Panda.

   “Will do.” The mountain lion responded, subtly scooting away from the newcomer next to him. “When are you guys going into town?”

   “I planned to leave here in the next half hour.” I informed him, trying my hardest to ignore the tension growing in the air. Even Tyler took a step closer to Mini. “I need to be in town by noon, so a half hour gives us time to get to the garage. I have some errands to run and Mini wanted to get his haircut.”

   “You should take Brian with you.” Moo suggested, his eyes still not entirely focused on the werecat even when he referenced him. “He needs a haircut too.”

   “I do not.” Brian retorted, his voice sounding more hurt than angry.

   “Alright bigfoot. Whatever you say.” Brock chuckled, the noise and the joke seeming a little forced.

   “If I go, then you should come with us as well.” Brian suggested with a pleading look as he stepped into the circle, towards Brock.

   “Sorry babe.” Brian visibly flinched as if Brock had slapped him. “That’s a no-can-do for me. I planned on giving the fox another bath today, this time with some shampoo and conditioner.”

   “I should stay behind to help you then.”

   “No.” Brock remonstrated, finally making eye contact with his boyfriend. The look was cold though, without the usual affection I was used to seeing there. “You should go with Mini and Evan and get out of the house for a while. I can always get Nogla to help me.”

   “You’re exhausted though.” Brian tried again, his eyes growing wide with desperation. “I can stay and do it with Nogla, but you need sleep.”

   “And this fox needs to be cleaned.” Brock bit back, his voice finally catching the same edge as his eyes. “I can sacrifice my health for his if it means he gets better faster.”

   “That is exactly why you always get hurt.” Panda piped up, stepping forward a little to block Brian from Brock. “ _I’ll_ help Nogla wash off the fox. You aren’t doing jack diddly until you get some more sleep.”

   “Panda’s right.” Tyler commented from his position hovering next to Mini. “You can’t keep pushing yourself.”

   “What if his wounds reopen?” Brock argued, casting a challenging glare at Tyler. “How will you guys close them?”

   “I’m sure Nogla and I could figure something out.” Panda reassured the beta, causing Moo to hesitate.

   “I’ll even keep an eye on them.” Tyler suggested, although the notion seemed to make Brock even more tense. “I won’t help, but I can wake you up if need be.”

   For a moment, I thought Brock would refuse. So far, Brock hadn’t allowed anyone to be downstairs except me and Mini. Although that had been mostly because of my rule that no one was supposed to be anywhere near the fox, Brock and I both knew that the pack was still hostile towards out charge, especially Tyler.

   Silently, I wondered what his reaction to Lui’s shift would have been if he’d stayed downstairs this morning.

   “Fine.” Moo conceded after a moment, heaving a sigh that didn’t do much to release the tension in his broad shoulders. “He needs to be rinsed off and washed and conditioned before we can start putting actual bandages on him. I’ve just recently closed the wounds so you can’t scrub at them or anything. Also, it would probably be best to cover the wounds with a towel or something so they don’t get too wet. The scabs could wash off and-”

   “Brock.” Panda interrupted with a firm but gentle look. “We got it under control. We’ll be fine.”

   When Moo hesitated, I walked up to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, much the same as he’d done to me earlier. Slowly, his head turned to look at me.

   “You need rest. Let them handle this.” I murmured, ignoring the strange feeling in my gut as I caught sight of Brian’s distressed face out of the corner of my eye.

   Brock sighed and looked down at his feet. “Take care of him.”

   With that, he glanced back at the fox before heading upstairs. The motion seemed unintentional, but I knew Brock purposely went around Anthony to get to the stairs instead of going in between the mountain lion and the distraught werecat who had been standing next to him.

   I cast a sideways glance at Mini, my concern mirrored in his eyes.

   “We’ll take care of him Evan.” Panda reassured me as he walked towards the fox. I turned to watch him crouch in front of the fox’s head and begin gently brushing a hand through the demon’s fur.

   “I know you will.” I murmured. “We’ll be back sometime this afternoon if you guys still need help at that point.”

   “Be safe in there Evan.” Panda reminded me as he stood to look back at me. I gave him a small smile and nodded before turning towards the stairs. I was only mildly surprised to see that Mini, Tyler, and Brian had all disappeared already.

   “I will.” I reassured the mountain lion as I made my way up the steps.

   Just at the top of the stairs, I barely caught sight of Tyler leaning down to press his forehead against Mini’s. The two shared an intimate look before Tyler turned and left up the steps behind him. I cleared my throat awkwardly as he left.

   Mini turned to look at me with a shy smile for a moment. The look disappeared though as he turned to look towards the front door.

   On the other side of the beta, I could see Brian and Moo staring at each other. The two seemed to be having some sort of internal war. Moo’s expression was one of cold anger while Brian just looked betrayed and full of anguish.

   As I approached them with Mini behind me, Brock turned to look at me.

   “We need ibuprofen or some sort of pain reliever while you’re out there.”

   I nodded slowly, glancing between him and the werecat behind him.

   “I planned to get some. Plus, I figured I’d get stuff to restock on our medical supply. Ladet knows we’ll need them to maintain the fox’s health.”

   “Always ten steps ahead of me.” Brock murmured with a small smile. I noticed the heated glare I received from Brian all too well. “When do you guys plan to be back?”

   “Somewhere around four or five at the latest. It shouldn’t take too much longer than that.” I informed him.

   “Alright, well. Have a safe trip.” Brock imparted before shimmying his way around us without so much as a glance back at Brian. The estranged werecat winced as his boyfriend disappeared up the stairs.

   “Looks like you’re going on a little road trip with us Bri-Bri.” Mini proclaimed, wrapping an arm around Brian’s shoulders and rubbing them in a comforting gesture. The werecat didn’t seem nearly as excited.

   All three of us got on our shoes and put on jackets to get ready for the trip. Brian seemed all too eager to be out of the house all of a sudden and Mini shared several looks of concern with me as we got ready.

   When I finished tying my shoes, I glanced over at the beta and then at Brian.

   “You guys ready?”

   “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Mini murmured with an uncertain look at Brian, who stayed silent.

   I sighed before leading the way outside. As soon as I stepped foot of the porch, I began my transformation into my animal form.

   It was true that we had a dirt road that led into our territory from town. In the unlikely case that someone figured out how to bypass our borders though, we didn’t let the road lead to our house. Instead, the road led to the garage which held our six cars and a couple four wheelers several miles from the house. In animal form, the garage was a good ten minute jog away.

   As soon as the other two were on all fours, I trotted out into the forest, on my way to the garage in the eastern part of the territory. There wasn’t much to talk about, so we made our way through the forest on quiet feet.

   When we finally got to the giant brown six car garage, we transformed back into our human forms. The jingle of the keys echoed through the quiet morning air as I unlocked one of the two side doors and entered the room beyond.

   All the walls of the garage were lined with counters, cabinets, and several red tool boxes. Six vehicles greeted us as we walked in.

   The bright red ferrari was Mini’s while Tyler owned the white corvette. Despite the dirt roads, both of them kept their cars in pristine condition. Marcel bought his white Kia a few years ago and Moo owned the gray Nissan whose black counterpart sat nearby under Anthony’s name. Scotty, Nogla, Lui, and Brian didn’t drive that much, so they didn’t own any of the cars.

   Standing above all of the cars on the other end of the room though, sat the only truck we owned. This one was mine and, as I opened the garage door and looked up at it, I couldn’t help but admire the vehicle.

   The truck stood taller than me, the black paint making it look dark and intimidating in the rainy afternoon light coming from outside. I ran a hand along the inside of the bed as I walked by, my fingers rippling over the rhinestone lining.

   With a huff of satisfaction, I jumped into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle with a dull roar. Brian hopped into the passenger seat while Mini sat in the back behind my seat. As soon as they were in, I drove out of the garage and closed the door before we headed down the dirt road into town.

   For the most part, the trip was quiet. Brian turned up the radio, but otherwise stayed silent. As I drove though, I could feel my nerves beginning to ball up in my stomach. So, I made a mental note to check on the werecat on the way back, after my nerves had been spent on my meeting with the ambassadors.

   We got to town about an hour later, at which point I stopped at the mall and placed the truck in park. Brian didn’t ask questions about where I was going, but I didn’t want him getting suspicious either way. Mini got out as we stopped to switch places.

   “Good luck. We’ll be back around four to pick you up.” The beta informed me with a smile as he hopped up into the truck in my place. I gave him a smile in response and closed his door for him.

   The truck drove off after a moment, leaving me to look out at the street it left behind. I huffed a sigh as the truck faded into the distance. Once it was gone, I turned in the complete opposite direction of the mall and headed towards the embassy.

   Just from previous experience, I knew the building I was looking for was only a few blocks away. A text I received from Legiqn as soon as I started walking told me that he would be passing by around 11:50, so I had time. Subconsciously, I kept my head on the swivel as I surveyed the crowds for dangerous faces.

   By the time I got to the embassy, it was 11:45am and I spent the next five minutes glaring up at the tall cement building in front of me with barely subdued loathing.

   The embassy of Panlyog was probably one of the ugliest buildings in town in my opinion. Sure, it had tons of intricate red and gold colors spiraling around the walls in a vibrant display of power, but it looked horrible in my eyes. Maybe I was a bit biased since I knew that all the hot shot humans who hated demons the most were harbored within its walls. Some of them probably even knew about the labs and were funding them in secret. The thought made me sick.

   As I waited for time to pass in front of the embassy, I played on my phone, glancing up at random intervals to watch the crowds around me. The entire square in front of the embassy was crawling with people. Legiqn had already told me to keep a look out for spies, but I did it almost instinctively. It was a good thing too.

   If someone were to ask me how I spotted the dangerous people on Panlyog, I wouldn’t be able to come up with a definitive answer. After spending several years in town, you just kind of pick up on some things. Small details, like a person who stays a second too long staring at someone or standing in one position. Most of the time, the bad people are the ones that you would never expect though.

   Like the blonde standing in the middle of the square taking a selfie next to a statue with her friends in front of the embassy. Out of the corner of my eye, I could also see a cliché douchebag sitting down and reading a newspaper, his dark eyes glancing up at unsuspecting people as they passed by. Just behind me, I could hear a politician of sorts babbling into his phone about something regarding the economy. They were all ploys and every single one of these people were strategically placed.

   Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when I glanced up from my phone with a bored expression and barely caught sight of Legiqn standing in the crowd with his phone in hand. He seemed to be frowning down at it with immense concentration. The demon didn’t seem to notice me, but I knew better than that.

   Sure enough, after several moments, my phone vibrated in my hand. I continued scrolling through social media before lazily checking the message from the demon across the way.

_Three. Newspaper. Politician. Bubbly blonde._

_Already spotted. Did you want to talk later?_ I responded, clicking the send button before scrolling through my social media apps once more.

 _Sure thing. I’ll meet you in front of the mall at 2._ The text replied. I pursed my lips and sighed, watching Legiqn wander away out of the corner of my eye.

   Mentally, I tried preparing myself for the meeting ahead of me. I didn’t know what to expect from the ambassadors. The only thing I knew about them was that they were probably terrible and very opinionated. A deep sense of foreboding settled in my gut as I put away my phone and stared up at the building.

   Despite my unease, my biggest remorse about entering this building wasn’t above me. Slowly, my gaze trailed down the red and gold walls to the front doors. They weren’t just any doors though.

   “Revolving doors…” I growled as I watched people spin out of the building with practiced ease. They looked so calm pushing their way through the spiraling death trap.

   I made a face and sighed before making my way towards the doors. Trying not to think about it too much, I pressed into one of the spinning slots. There was a split second where I feared I might be swept off my feet as I moved forward before I was thrown out into the world beyond the doors.

   The lobby that greeted me as I shook myself was nothing unusual. It was fairly large, but not abnormally so. Just like outside, the lobby was splattered in red and gold. The roof loomed high above my head, several chandeliers dangling from its surface. Off to both sides of me, staircases almost seemed to hover in the air behind huge towering walls. People of all shapes and sizes traversed these staircases with ease, all of them unaware of anything but themselves and their destination.

   In front of me, the lobby seemed much the same. There were people walking around everywhere, but none of them even spared so much as a glance at me as I made my way to the circular front desk in the middle of the room. Several of the humans were even sitting on the chairs lining the walls of the lobby. They all had their noses in newspaper articles or their phones. As I glanced through them, I thought I might have seen the ghost of a tail or two.

   Drawing myself up, I concentrated on my task at hand. Behind the front desk sat a man who looked to be just a few years older than me. He glanced up at me as I made my way over. I noted the long face and the blonde hair and blue eyes as he spoke.

   “Hello sir.” The man greeted me with a friendly voice. “How may I help you?”

   “Yes hi.” I responded, casually leaning on the counter in front of me. “My name is Evan. I’m from Noanre International and I have an appointment with the Human Ambassadors of Public Relations at noon.”

   The man smiled and turned to his computer. His fingers flew over the keyboard with expert precision as he typed something in. Within seconds, he looked back up at me with that same friendly smile.

   “We’ve got your name right here in the schedule.” The man beamed, grabbing a laminated card with a clip from off his desk and handing it to me. I glanced down at it, seeing the word “visitor” written on it in bold font. “The bosses are waiting for you on the 20th floor in the conference room.”

   “How exactly do I get there?” I asked, clipping the card to my shirt.

   “Take the elevator to floor 20 and hang a left. As you’re going down that hall, you’ll come to a big glass encased office with a conference table. That’ll be your destination.” The man informed me in a patient tone. I nodded and gave him a smile as I turned to leave, briefly glancing down at his name tag.

   “Alright. Thank you Bryce.”

   For a moment, I contemplated going up the stairs. I didn’t want to be out of breath when I got upstairs though, so I took the elevator like I was told. Every corner I turned and even the walls of e elevator were covered in the same shades of red and gold that I’d seen in the lobby and on the outside of the building earlier.

   As I reached the 20th floor, I continued following the directions I’d been given. Surprisingly, there was no one in the cubicles littering the room I entered when I stepped out of the elevator. If anything, the floor seemed nearly silent, almost eerily so.

   I didn’t need directions at this point. Without the obnoxious film of people talking all around me, I could hear several distinct voices coming down the hall from my left. I followed them and found the glass office with what seemed to be the end of the conference table I’d been told about.

   Turning the corner, my suspicions were confirmed when I glanced down the hall to see that the table inside spanned almost the entire length of the room. If I had to guess, I would say that there were at least fifty chairs around the table. At the other end of the hall, I could see a white projector sheet and several white boards which were probably used for presentations.

  I realized as I observed the room that the only door was on the other end of the hall as well. It made sense considering whoever was in charge probably wanted to know if someone came in late. It made my journey seem twice as far though as I walked down the hall.

   The sounds of voices increased as I approached the door. Careful not to seem obvious or nervous, I made several notes about the five people I could see standing inside the glass office.

   The first person I saw was a friendly looking brunette with a black pencil skirt and a white shirt. A wide smile split her face as she spoke animatedly to the man next to her. The man wore an unbuttoned blue tinted business suit and looked down at his companion with a cunning glint in his eyes. His long hair was pulled up into a high pony tail on the back of his head.

   Next to these two stood a woman wearing a pitch-black business suit with short blonde hair. She seemed to be watching the conversations happening on either side of her with boredom. As I passed by the windows, I couldn’t help but note the flicker of intrigue in her eyes as she caught sight of me.

   The fourth and fifth people in the room seemed like they were deep in conversation. The man with the dark beard and brown suit pointed at something on the table while the tall brunette standing next to him frowned. The bun of brown hair on top of the woman's head bounced as she nodded. Both of them looked up simultaneously as soon as my hand touched the door handle.

   I bunched up my facial muscles to replicate the sincerest smile I could muster as I walked in.

“Hello.” I greeted the tall woman and the bearded man next to her.

The man was about my height, but the woman stood almost as tall as Tyler in her fancy looking black suit. I realized that she was wearing high heels, but that only accounted for about three inches. Even without them, she would’ve been taller than me.

“Hello.” High Heels beamed, her smile reminding me of the secretary I’d met downstairs. Practiced. “You must be our 12 o’clock. Evan, right?”

“That would be me.” I responded with a polite dip of my head.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The woman proclaimed, stepping forward to offer her hand. I took it with a smile. “My name is Boheirna.”

Recognition tinged the edges of my mind as I placed the face with the name. Legiqn had warned me about this woman earlier.

The other four people in the room shifted towards me as Boheirna stepped out of the way. The woman with the indifferent gaze came up to me next and offered a hand, the other hand hooking itself under her arm.

“Machia. Vice president.”

I made a small nod, noting the lift of the woman’s eyebrows as our hands connected. Before I could think about it, she was replaced with the bearded man whose head barely reached my nose.

“Desmer. Secretary.” He introduced himself in a deep, gravelly voice. I was barely able to register what he said when the woman with the friendly smile bounced forward.

“Hi!” She exclaimed, looking up into my face eagerly. “I’m Amyar.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” I responded, momentarily forgetting that, no matter how friendly she was, she was still one of the bad guys.

The last person to greet me was the man with the cunning glint in his eyes. He approached me with a dubious look, his gaze briefly traveling down to the tennis shoes I was wearing as he gave me a short once over.

“Hezro.” The man muttered, his brown eyes flashing dangerously. The flicker made my insides churn.

“It’s nice to meet you guys.” I remarked, smiling at everyone in the room despite the bitter sense of hatred crawling through my stomach.

“Please.” High Heels motioned to a seat next to what I assumed was the head honcho chair at this end of the long conference table. “Have a seat.”

“Thank you.” I bowed a little and did as I was told.

High Heels sat next to me at the head of the table while Indifferent, Beard, Friendly, and Cunning took seats from right to left on the other side of the table, in that order. As they sat, I pulled my phone out and started recording the meeting like I’d seen many other reporters do every so often.

“So, Evan.” Boheirna started, folding her hands together on the table and leaning towards me. “I understand that you are here on some official _Noanre International_ business?”

   “Yes ma’am.” I replied with a polite nod, noting the ambition shining in her eyes. “I’m working on a big article about this town.”

   “Well, where do you want to start?” High Heels asked with a small sweeping gesture of her hands and a curious expression. I barely kept my mind from freezing up as all the attention in the room turned towards me.

“Well, let’s hear some things about this city in general.” I asked, falling back on my emergency questions for the time being as I tried to get a handle on the nerves in my stomach. “What makes Panlyog unique?”

“What makes Panlyog unique…” High Heels murmured, mostly to herself as she pretended to ponder the subject.

I remembered Legiqn’s warning as she looked up at the ceiling. It was all a ploy. Boheirna already had a plan for how this was going to go. She knew what her answer was going to be, and I could see it in her eyes as she returned her attention to me.

“Well, in Panlyog, history is a huge part of our everyday lives.” She informed me with a bright expression. “We are very proud of our local monuments which have been placed all around town. Most of them are dedicated to some of our greatest real-life heroes throughout history. They are people who have either saved the world or saved some part of this town. Our museums are gigantic and loaded with all the information one could possibly need about our history and where we came from.”

“That is unique.” I conceded with a small nod of my head as I considered where I should take the conversation. I had to get them to reveal something about the demons in the labs. How to do that though…

“Just out of curiosity, where are these statues?” I asked, keeping my face open and innocent as I scooted forward in my seat.

“Most of them are in the northern quadrants of town a few blocks away from here.” Beard spoke up from across the table. “There are a few in the southern part of town as well, but none so extravagant as the ones near here. They are our main attraction here in town. Most people come for the history and for the life like statues.”

“Can you give me some examples of who the statues represent?” I inquired.

Of course, I knew exactly what they were talking about. I’d seen the statues myself and I knew none of them were demons. It would be a challenge to lead the conversation from here to where I needed to go, but it was worth a shot.

“Oh! This is my expertise.” Amyar piped up, her signature smile still present on her face as she raised her hand. Practically bouncing out of her seat, she waited for High Heels to give her a nod before continuing.

“There’s Envid Son of Celos, Nataezoso Daughter of Pere, Daesig the Mountain, Lumna of the Original Seven, Mirhannah the Deity of the North, Gyeono Fighter of Many, and Codicia the Last of Yog. These seven are our most visited ones. Codicia, Gyeono, and Mirhannah are the only ones who have contributed to our town specifically since they’ve visited here before, but we still consider the others noteworthy as well.

“Gyeono helped us fight the people who governed us many years ago and Codicia helped us set a new government in place when our economy was down in the dumps after the battle. Mirhannah was simply a great friend to most of the town when she visited. For every single one of them, we’ve made statues to commemorate what they did for us.”

I nodded before tilting my head. From what I’d heard, Mirhannah was not a nice person. If anything, she had gone down recently as the most prideful, arrogant, selfish human being in history.

I didn’t know which statue belonged to her, and I didn’t know who the others were either. Based on what I knew about Mirhannah alone though, I had a hunch that the others weren’t good people. Knowing the town in general, they were all most likely human too, which was something I could use.

“Most cities have Isaac or Fousler somewhere in their history considering the major contribution they had on everyone’s history.” I pointed out despite the tension sparked in the room at the mention of these names. “Do you guys have anything like that?”

“Can’t say we do.” High Heels answered coolly, her face and Machia’s being the only ones to stay mostly apathetic. “People like those two are still a bit too revered to have statues set up in their names right now.”

“Their respect is earned though don’t you think?” I postulated, leaning forward as nonchalantly as possible as I looked up at Boheirna. “After all, those two are the ones responsible for bringing all species to Earth in the first place.”

“Absolutely.” High Heels agreed, her smile fading as she made a small bow of her head. “What I meant was, it would be a disgrace if we set up something in their name and it turned out to be a flawed imitation of them.”

Everybody except Ms. Indifferent, Machia, cast several glances at Boheirna out of the corner of their eyes. They all did it in their own intervals and their faces didn’t reveal anything that they were thinking, but I could smell it in the air. They were getting nervous.

“We do have some history about the demons in the area though, if that’s what you’re trying to get at.” Amyar defended, leaning forward on the table in front of her. It was the first time her smile had disappeared as I turned to look at her.

“That’s awesome.” I remarked, making a wide, welcoming gesture with my hands. “What can you tell me about the types of demons who live here in town then?”

“There’s about a hundred of them all in all.” Desmer answered immediately, his beard shuddering, while everyone else seemed to hesitate. His brown eyes gained a cautious glint as he made eye contact with me. “Some of them live in town while the others live on the outskirts of the city.”

“And, what is your city’s total population?” I inquired, staring him down from across the table.

“400,000.” Beard stated without breaking his focus on me. I frowned and tilted my head slowly.

“Isn’t a hundred a little low of an estimate for the demon population considering how many humans there are?” I wondered out loud, pursing my lips as I pretended to do the calculations in my head. “Throughout Noanric, demons outnumber humans by 4-1. A 100 to 400,000 ratio is a little concerning then, don’t you think?”

“Well,” Desmer started with an uncertain glance at Boheirna who was now glaring at him, “the area around town isn’t all that good for agriculture. There aren’t many places out there where they can build viable homesteads, so most demons move away.”

“Why aren’t they allowed in town?” I inquired, noting the glare the secretary was getting from Cunning down the line. Machia seemed amused by the turn of events, her expression of indifference dropping for once.

“If that’s what you think I implied, I’m sorry.” Desmer tried in a flustered tone. “That’s not what I meant at all.”

“You didn’t answer the question.” I retorted, barely keeping the growl out of my voice. Irritation boiled in my chest as I continued staring, unblinkingly at the man on the other side of the table.

“Mr. Evan.” Boheirna interrupted in a dangerously quiet voice off to my side. I turned to look at her with a small frown as she looked down at me with a solemn expression. “Surely, you know about all the slaughters going on in Noanric.”

I hesitated before nodding, not entirely sure where this was going.

“Yes.”

“Most of them are done by demons, wouldn’t you agree?”

“And how many times have humans killed hundreds of demons without punishment?” I argued, feeling my sense of annoyance grow even more.

“That’s not the point.” High Heels upbraided, her eyes narrowing towards me.

“That is the point.” I insisted, ignoring the warning hiss coming from the leopard inside me as anger tinted my voice. “Simply because stories about demons killing humans are more publicized doesn’t mean that it can't happen the other way around as well. How many demons do you think are killed unjustly in Noanric every year?”

“How many humans are killed unjustly every year?” Hezro snapped, his mask of silent cunning crumbling in front of my very eyes as I turned towards him. “You said it yourself, demons outnumber us by a lot. How is it fair that we should be ignored? We are the minority.”

“Being a minority isn’t the problem here.” I retorted, sitting forward in my seat with ferocity as I turned to address every human in the room. “Everybody, no matter what species, race, gender, or age has horrible experiences in life. Pain and suffering isn’t exclusive to one group alone. That’s just the way the world is.

   “Demons have suffered just as much violence and oppression as they’ve inflicted upon humans. Both the majority and the minority have been put at a disadvantage in this case. Wouldn’t it be better to try and come to an understanding between both species rather than trying to slaughter each other in the name of revenge?”

   “Tell me this then.” Boheirna demanded, leaning forward in her seat to attract my gaze. “Have you ever had family or friends who have been killed by demons?”

   “Can’t say I have, but my heart bleeds for those who have.” I muttered as I glimpsed the challenge in her eyes.

   “So, you’re loyal to _them_.” High Heels surmised, an expression of anger crossing her face.

   “Not loyal per say.” I hesitated, trying to keep the unease creeping through my skin out of my voice as I quickly tried to figure out how to get away from the implied accusation. “It’s my job as a reporter to get both sides of the stories, especially since what I’m investigating just so happens to be the DemHum relationship in this town specifically. So far though, it seems like you guys here have been nastier to your demon population than most humans I interview.”

   “On what grounds?” Machia spoke up for the first time since she’d introduced herself. I glanced over at her, burying my uncertainty when I noticed the way her eyes shimmered with an unspoken challenge.

  “Where do I even start?” I wondered sarcastically, lifting my head to look up at the ceiling in a manner the same as what High Heels had done earlier. “Discrimination reports. Accounts of abuse, both verbal and physical. Reports about assault. About violence. Demons being stoned and beaten to death in alleyways.”

   The people around the table glared at me as I spoke, their eyes filled with uncertainty and varying degrees of anger. Most of the things I listed off couldn’t be found in public records. I knew that much. The only way I knew about the things that happened in town was because of demons who told me about it. I realized this only a little too late.

   “There are no reports about that kind of stuff in this town Mr. Evan.” Boheirna assured me, her voice silky smooth as she continued glaring at me. “I can assure you that much.”

   “Try telling that to the demons I interviewed to get these reports.” Of course I was bluffing, and these people knew it better than anyone. Therefore, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Hezro sneered down the way.

   “It’s their word against ours.” The long-haired man grinned. “No one would believe them.”

   “Not even Zephyra? The Kafaira of Noanric? She wouldn’t believe them?” I argued, an unwarranted note of desperation hitting my voice as I recognized that I was starting to lose.

   “She doesn’t count.” Hezro practically growled, his eyes narrowing.

   “Why? Cause she’s a demon?” I bit back. Hezro faltered slightly, his eyes blinking as he realized that he’d just proved me right.

   Across from me, Machia smirked. Amyar and Desmer both kept their eyes on the table in front of them while Boheirna simply continued glaring at me.

   “How far are you people willing to go in your hatred?” I interrogated the stunned humans, finally allowing the anger in my chest to fully coat my words as I remembered the wounds on the fox. “Obviously, you’re willing to kill and torture and mutilate.”

   “You have no grounds for any of that.” Boheirna snapped, standing abruptly and almost throwing her chair over as she glared down at me. “None of the things you’re listing off can be proven.”

   “And if I find my proof?” I growled, standing to meet her challenging gaze.

   “You won’t like the result.” The woman muttered in a voice so dark that I was impressed it belonged to a human.

   I swallowed harshly as realization dawned on me and I finally felt the panicky breaths of the leopard in my mind.

   “Is that a threat Ms. Boheirna?” I inquired, anxiety swirling through my chest and bile rising in my throat as her gaze darkened.

   “This meeting is finished. Get out of our office. Now.” She ordered, straightening and smoothing out her suit.

   “It was a pleasure to meet all of you.” I muttered, casting a wary glance at the tall woman standing next to me as I made a polite bow to everybody else.

   Trying not to show the panic building in my fingertips, I turned to leave. The feeling of being watched followed me down the hall and even into the elevator. Everywhere I turned, I could feel eyes following me.

   I barely noticed the concerned look given to me by the secretary at the front desk when I returned the visitor card to him. Acting as inconspicuous as possible was impossible as I left the building and my throat began constricting.

 _That’s not how that was supposed to go_. I thought angrily as I made my way through the crowded streets.

 _No shit Sherlock_. My leopard hissed, sounding equally angry, if not more angry than I felt.

_What have I done?_

As soon as I got a few blocks away from the embassy, I could feel the eyes begin to disappear. The dread I felt remained though.

The humans now had a reason to suspect that I either supported the demons or I was one myself, both of which were frowned upon in Panlyog. Not only that, it wasn’t the ordinary humans who I’d made suspicious. It was the higher ups themselves. If they sent people to follow me home or saw Brian and Mini with me…

I couldn’t run though, and neither could Brian and Mini. If we ran, that would only prove that the human ambassadors were right. I couldn’t give them any more reasons to try following me or my pack members. The only option was to act normal, to act like nothing had happened.

Hopefully, they hadn’t been too suspicious and had decided to let me go. It was unlikely, but I could hope.

Swallowing the bile in my throat, I continued walking down the street, away from the embassy. My chest felt tight and my fingers felt cold as I walked down the street. It was done. It was over with. I couldn't go back now.

Anxiety plagued my heart as I walked down the busy streets. Walking helped me keep my sanity for at least a little while, but I still felt paranoid. Everyone around me could be a spy out to get me. I could only hope that I wasn’t being too suspicious.

At some point, I pulled my phone to check the time. It was only 12:45pm when I looked at the clock which meant that I still had an hour and fifteen minutes to kill before I had to meet Legiqn. So, I decided to take care of some of my errands around town while I waited.

The lady at the pharmacy was nice when I bought the ibuprofen and bandages for the house. Her smile seemed genuine, but I couldn’t help the feeling of unease in my chest when she looked at me. She didn’t seem like one of the bad guys. I’d been fooled before though.

   When it became obvious that I wasn’t going to calm down any time soon, I made my way to the mall to wait for Legiqn. On the way, the smell of tacos enticed me to buy some food from a street vendor on the side of the street.

   With my bag of medical products in hand, I made my way to the open plaza in front of the mall where several cement picnic benches stood. Already, there were people, most of them tourists, sitting on some of the benches. Finding an empty table was hard, but I managed.

   While I ate my food, I kept an eye out for _disfraquine._ All my senses, everyone except my smell at least, stayed acute as I listened in on the conversations around me and made notes of every person that passed me. In my eyes, they were all suspects.

   I got about half way through my taco when my senses picked up on one person in particular.

   “Hey Evan!” A familiar voice called. I glanced to the side to see Legiqn approaching the table I was sitting at. The sight and use of my name made me glance around instinctively.

   Legiqn wasn’t careless enough to associate himself with me in public areas. If he used my name though, it meant that there weren’t any dangerous people around. Knowing what I’d done earlier though, I knew I couldn’t be too cautious.

   “Are we safe?” I asked in a quiet voice as Legiqn stopped by my side.

   “For now.” The demon nodded, casting a glance at the crowds walking past us. We both sat for a moment, double checking every face for any sign of hostility, but neither of us found anything.

   “I know I said 2 o’clock,” Legiqn started, his gaze never leaving the crowd. “I have a few moments to spare though and I saw you waiting over here already. I came to see what you found out.”

   “I barely got anything at all.” I muttered bitterly, taking a bite of my taco.

   “I’m sorry.” Legiqn murmured, his voice growing soft. “I hoped that they would cooperate more when you called me, but I guess not.”

   I shook my head and waved a hand at him despite the stinging sense of failure and anxiety in my fingers. “It's alright. I knew they wouldn't give me much.”

   “What else happened?” Legiqn inquired. I glanced up at him in question, but he still wasn’t looking at me. “That look on your face tells me something else happened Evan.”

I let out an uneasy growl which was swallowed up by the city noise as I took another bite of my taco.

“I may have ruffled some of the wrong feathers.” I admitted reluctantly. Legiqn looked down at me long enough to give me a sympathetic look.

“Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made.” He remarked just as a vibrating sound started up close by.

I glanced down at his front pants pocket, seeing the light impression of what I assumed to be a phone. Legiqn reached into the pocket and fished out the small device. A wince crossed his face when he read whatever was on the screen.

“Sorry. I gotta take this. It’s the boss lady.” Legiqn apologized with a small glance my way. “I hope you find what you’re looking for Evan.”

“Thank you for your help Legiqn.” I responded quietly. The demon waved a hand in acknowledgement before swiping his thumb across his phone and putting it up to his ear.

Despite the noise of the humans racing around me, I heard the first words of the person on the other end.

“ _Did you find her_?”

   I hummed considerably and shifted in my seat as Legiqn’s response got swallowed up along with his figure in the crowd around us. A part of me wanted to say that I knew who was on the other end of the call, but I couldn’t think of the answer. So, I continued eating my food and ignored the incident altogether.

   After a minute of watching the people bustling around me, I took out my phone and pulled up my text messages. Briefly, I typed out a message to Brian’s phone saying I was ready when they were before putting my phone away once more.

   For a while, I did nothing but sit and watch the people walking by in their nonstop destination to seemingly nowhere. There was never a shortage of humans as they walked by. A few times, I spotted the rare occasion of a demon blending in with the crowds. 

   To any other human, they would seem normal. For me, however, I’d worked for almost a year training Panda how to transform his tail and his ears when he shifted into his human form.

   Every demon is born in animal form. As they get older, they eventually learn to shift their bodies. It always starts with the legs and arms because, surprisingly, it’s easier to shift an arm or a leg rather than shifting ears or tails. Perhaps that’s because demons learn their animal languages first, which includes a lot of body language. Considering speech is mostly made through the tail and the ears, it’s hard to convince the body to give up the only forms of communication it has.

   Since Panda had grown up with witches, the Matvreena, he’d never learned how to make his ears shift when he transformed into a human. Therefore, when the pack and I found him- he was the last person we found- I made a deal to show him how to transform fully.

   Nowadays, he still retained the occasional flickers of animal body parts just like the demons I saw in town, but they weren’t noticeable enough for humans to report.

  I had just let out a soft sigh when a shadow suddenly appeared on the harsh cement table I sat at, its figure stretching towards me in the high afternoon sun. I blinked at it in surprise and looked up only to watch as a beautiful young woman took a seat across from me. Her blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight, creating a glistening halo around her head which matched the smile she fixed me with. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I gazed into her amber eyes.

  “Hi. Sorry to bother you.” The woman apologized, leaning towards me on her elbows. “My name’s Amy. I’m a tourist and I was wondering if you could help me and my friend find a place we’re looking for.”

  I shrunk a little, mystified by the woman’s presence. For a moment, I thought she could be a _disfraquine,_ but I couldn’t tell for sure. There was something in her eyes though. Something familiar…

   Subtly, I tried scenting the air. Immediately, my scent glands were coated with the reek of human pollution and thousands of scents carried by all the humans passing by.

   Giving a barely audible huff, I dulled my sense of smell once more and finished the last bite of my taco. Maybe she was just a tourist.

    “What place are you guys looking for?” I inquired, pushing the garbage from my taco off to the side.

     “Well, see,” Amy began with an embarrassed smile, “I’m traveling with a friend and we heard about this lake around here that sounded like a good place for a camping trip. I think it’s called Antin Lake or something like that. We have no idea where it is though. We know where the mountains are before the lake cause those things are massive, but the lake is our main concern.”

   I tilted my head in confusion, my mind reeling with the major information dump. As I considered what she could be talking about, I felt a strange sense of calm begin to pass over my conscience.

   “Antin? I don’t think I know about an Antin Lake around here. There is a Santian Lake though if that’s what you mean.”

   “That’s it!” The woman shouted, almost bouncing out of her seat in excitement. I flinched and glanced around to make sure no one else had noticed the sudden exclamation. “That’s the one. Can you tell me how to get there?”

   “Do you have a pen and paper?” I asked, both enraptured and unsettled by the woman as she beamed at me from across the table.

   “Oh yeah! Hold on.” She responded as she turned to dig through a brown satchel strapped across her shoulders. I couldn’t help but stare at her as a strong sense of déjà vu washed over me.

   Eventually, the woman came back up with a black pen and a small notepad.

   “There ya are.” She announced, handing the two materials to me. I took them with a grateful smile and set them down so I could draw a small picture.

    “So, like you said, it’s not hard to find the mountains. Just in case though, I’ll tell you that they’re about a hundred miles north of town.” I informed her as I drew a compass, a small mountain range, and the lake on the other side. “Santian Lake is about fifty miles past that. The only way to get there is to go straight through the mountains before heading NorthWest to get to the lake.”

    “Would it be possible to go directly NorthWest from town to get there instead of going through the mountains?” Amy inquired, leaning forward to see what I was drawing. I shook my head vigorously.

    “No. There’re a lot of dangers in the forest west of here. I don’t suggest going there unless you have the tools to fight your way out.” I stated uneasily as I considered how many packs lived in the woods around our territory west of town. There were many others between here and the mountains who would love a good fight and a decent meal.

    “If we did have such tools?” The woman postulated, glancing up at me with a mysterious look in her eyes. I shifted in my seat and shook my head.

    “You’d never make it.”

   “So, the only way to go is through the mountains.”

   “Basically.” I conceded with a small nod. “Going through the mountains is still dangerous, but it’s arguably easier. The areas around the mountains are full of canyons and waterfalls and whatnot. Going through the mountains will be easier.”

   “Are there any roads that could lead us from here to Santian Lake?”

   I glanced at the woman out of the corner of my eye, mildly disturbed by the concentration with which she was staring at my tiny map on the table. As I watched her, I realized on some level that she was not human. Maybe she wasn’t even a demon.

   “Yeah.” I mused as I turned back to my little drawing and started adding stuff to it. “They’re all dirt roads, but, like I said, your best option is to go straight through the middle, through a canyon in between everything. It’s your best bet on low traffic.”

   “Why would we need low traffic?” Amy inquired with a confused look at my map. I frowned a little.

   Glancing around, I checked the area for any suspicious faces. So far, there still didn’t seem to be any which meant I was either very lucky or the ambassadors were buying their time. Both notions made me uneasy.

   “There’s a lot of smugglers and hunters that go around the mountains.” I informed the woman on the other side of the table in a low voice. “The other roads are the only ways that they can get into Panlyog without being noticed. Only the really crazy ones go around them.”

   “We must be the crazy ones for considering it then.” Amy laughed lightly.

   “That’s debatable.” I murmured with a nervous chuckle.

   Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone approaching us. Glancing up, I caught sight of a broad-shouldered man with dark brown hair and a beard. A stern look etched itself into his face as he came towards us with a red basket of food in each hand.

“Amy! Amy. What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait for me.” He called out as he came closer.

The woman across from me turned her head to look at the man with an innocent smile. Once he got close enough, she patted the seat next to her. The man gave her a brief glare and stopped just behind her without sitting down. The woman simply shrugged before turning her attention back to me. Immediately, I saw the man’s gaze follow hers.

As our eyes met, I felt a twinge in the back of my mind. In my mind’s eye, I could feel my leopard stir from his slumber and wake up long enough to observe the man before me.

Somewhere between the broad chest, muscular arms, brown eyes and hair, and distinct monolids on both eyes, I recognized a part of myself in the man who stood before us. Not only did he look similar to me in body and in facial features, I also felt as if some core part of us was similar, if not the exact same. A sense of familiarity thrummed through my body as I watched the man sit down.

“This is the friend I’m traveling with.” Amy introduced me from her seat while the person next to her absentmindedly handed her one of the hot dog baskets in his hands.

The man nodded before reaching across the table. I moved on autopilot, silently reaching out to take his hand. Another dizzying sense of déjà vu raged through me as our skin met. This time, it was stronger though. Unlike with Amy where I only got the vague sense that I knew her, I got the strong feeling that somewhere, somehow, I’d definitely met the man before.

“I'm Mark.” The man introduced himself after a mutual pause before retracting his hand. His voice was deep and sonorous, and I was almost blown away by the sense of familiarity with which I received his words.

“I’m Evan. It's nice to meet you.” I responded, dazed all over again by the man’s presence.

“So, you know the place we’re looking for?” Mark inquired before taking a bite out of his hot dog. His eyes never left mine, but it wasn’t a challenge I saw in those mocha orbs. Instead, I got the distinct impression that the man was curious more than anything.

I nodded. “I think so. I was just telling your friend here that Santian Lake is about 150 miles NorthWest of here. You have to get through the mountains to get there, but it’s a nice vacation spot.”

“You told him we were on vacation?” Mark muttered in disbelief as he turned to look at Amy. The woman simply shrugged.

“I don’t know who he is. He could be a hunter for all we know.” She reasoned with an apologetic look my way.

“No, he’s definitely not a hunter.” Mark murmured with an intensely enraptured look my way. I met his eyes resolutely, my leopard sitting up even further as we once again made eye contact. “So… Evan.”

“Mark.” I responded without thinking too much about it. Amy seemed mildly surprised while Mark simply kept that same curious look on his face.

“I’m gonna be honest.” The man started with a cautionary glance around us. Slowly, he leaned forward and made a motion for me to do the same. I followed without complaint.

“We’re not here on vacation.” Mark admitted in a low tone, his voice purposely slow and drawn out. “We’re trying to find our friends and we believe they’re somewhere around this town. So far, our clues have led us to Santian Lake, but we’re not sure that we’ll find our friends there. Are there any places around here or, more specifically, are there any places around Santian Lake where you think we should look for… missing people?”

“So far as I know, there's nothing at Santian Lake.” I replied with a tilt of my head. “I guess we've never really checked since we first came here though.”

“Evan did say that there were hunters and smugglers that go around the mountains though.” Amy interjected briefly before glancing over her shoulder.

“You said we.” Mark mused as he lifted his head from his food and finished chewing what was in his mouth.

I hesitated before nodding. A part of me knew I shouldn’t have answered the question. I’d already partially exposed my pack once today, but I couldn’t help myself.

“I did. Me and a group of my friends moved here a few years back. We've lived here ever since.”

Mark frowned before glancing up at me with a strange expression.

“Are they all like you?” He asked. I gave him a confused look to which he seemed to rethink his question.

“Maybe what I should ask is, are they all like us? Me and you? Or maybe even Amy here.” Mark made a motion towards the woman next to him.

I gazed at both of them, each in their own turn, trying to find something that I could characterize my pack with. In the two demons, for I was convinced that they were demons at this point, I could see vague similarities between them and my pack members, but not ones that would make them “like us”, whatever that meant.

Not even Marcel or Tyler had such domineering traits like Mark, even when they went full alpha. Mark seemed to tower over me even though I knew I was putting up my strongest front to him and that we were both sitting down. Upon closer observation, I also realized that Mark was most likely shorter than me when we were standing.

Still, he held the unmistakable air of a man in charge, a man with striking intelligence. In a way, he kind of reminded of the fox in that way- smart and cunning.

Amy reminded me of Moo, Panda, and Scotty combined as she quietly observed Mark and I through seemingly indifferent eyes. I knew she was analyzing every single action both Mark and I made though. Had she been more vocal about it, I would have compared her to Brian or Nogla. Both Mark and Amy guarded their expressions too much for me to consider comparing them with Mini though.

Out of all the people in my pack, I would have said that Lui was the closest to matching the stature which Mark and Amy both possessed.

Still, not even Lui held that key element that made him “like us”. I didn’t know what that key element was, but I could feel it in my heart. Nobody in the pack was like us.

“None of them are like either of you and I know they’re not like me in more ways than one.” I informed the waiting pair after a minute.

Mark’s eyes seemed to dull ever so slightly at this, but he still kept an intense amount of attention on me.

“That’s a shame.” He remarked with a considerable hum. “Considering we’re even able to speak to each other right now, I'm assuming it means that you've either buried your memories or you truly have no idea what you are. If you had your memories, we would both be in spasms right now. I think your amnesia might be an advantage for us for the time being.”

At the time, none of Mark’s words clicked. They wouldn't start making sense for another month at most.

   So, I sat there with a perplexed expression, not entirely sure what to make of the implications Mark made. It was almost like I couldn’t even think about them even though I tried my hardest to figure out why his words ignited a spark of hope in my leopard’s chest.

   Mark and Amy finished the rest of their food in silence before getting up to leave. I stood with them, still slightly dazed. Mark stayed with me while Amy took the two little baskets which had held their food as well as my trash and went to throw them away.

“At least I know where you are now, although I can’t tell which one you are.” Mark mused as he ran his hand over his shirt and gently tugged on the jacket he was wearing. “Either way, I think you’ll be extremely useful in the future.”

For a moment, he seemed to pause. I noticed in that moment that my hunch was correct. Mark stood about three inches shorter than me, the top of his head coming up to my nose.

“I can never guarantee that I can answer or that I won’t switch numbers, but I feel obligated to give you my phone number.” The man commented aloud. I watched his expression for a moment before nodding.

“That’d be great.”

With a deft hand, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and unlocked it. I opened up a spot for a new contact under the name “Mark” before handing the phone to the man standing next to me. He typed in the number before handing it back to me with a smile.

As I glanced through his information, I noticed that he had written “BumBum” in place of his name. I smiled a little as I saved the number and briefly waved the phone at him.

“BumBum, huh? Sounds like a nice stripper name.” I commented jokingly.

Mark chuckled, his deeper voice making a light chuffing sound. “That’s actually a good idea.”

I rose an eyebrow at him and smirked. “What? Being a stripper?”

Mark glanced sideways at me and shrugged. “I mean yeah. They make really good money.”

“I don’t doubt it.” I remarked as Amy came wandering back to us. Mark glanced down over at her with a smile before turning his gaze back to me.

As our eyes met, I was overcome with an urge to follow both him and Amy. They were important people, people who knew more about what was happening to the world than I did. I wanted to find out why I was so drawn to them. Why every instinct I had wanted me to follow them.

At the time, I didn’t know what drew me to Mark and Amy. Somehow though, I felt like our meeting was forbidden which only made me want to stay near them even more.

I had to remind myself of my responsibilities to my pack though. They depended on me for more things than I knew, and the fox was a whole another problem. He wouldn’t survive without me. The path Mark and Amy were about to head down was dangerous and it was one where my pack would not and could not follow.

With a sigh, I drew myself up and nodded at the man and the woman standing next to me.

“It was nice meeting you both. I hope you find what you're looking for.” I sighed, smiling at the two demons before me.

“And to you as well Evan. You'll find what you're looking for.” Surprisingly, Amy was the one who responded to me. I gave her an uncertain but kind smile which she returned with a sympathetic look.

“I’ll keep in touch with you Evan. We'll join forces again soon. See ya around **Moganero**.” Mark remarked as the two turned and walked away.

I watched them recede into the crowd with a sense of longing harbored deep within my chest. Part of me, some primal instinct, told me to follow them. They were like me in so many ways and Mark had mentioned something about my memories.

I didn’t know if they were safe to be around though. Plus, the instinct I had to protect my family and the fox outweighed the urge to follow the two demons.

With a deep sigh, I looked down at my phone, briefly noting that I was still in the contacts app when I unlocked the screen. There were no new text messages, so I sent my own text to Brian asking where they were at so I could meet them. While I waited for a response, I began walking around town aimlessly.

A response never came. Not after 10 minutes. Not after 30. Not even after an entire hour of waiting and walking around. I checked my phone several times, but Brian didn’t answer. So, I tried Mini’s phone and it went straight to voicemail.

For the next hour, I tried to convince myself that they were probably busy. Most likely, they weren’t even looking at their phones. Or maybe Brian had his phone on vibrate. Maybe Mini’s phone had died. That’s why he wasn’t answering.

Right around 4:30, I felt my anxiety begin consuming my mind. My blood turned cold as all the worst possibilities spun through my thoughts.

What if they were in danger? What if they’d been captured? Maybe they were being held at gunpoint and their phones had been taken away. What if they were in trouble? Was it Boheirna and the other ambassadors? Had they already decided to punish me? Had they already sent people to capture my family? Where were Mini and Brian?

Surely, I would’ve felt it. Even if whoever captured them could figure out how to dampen our bound, like what had happened when the fox attacked Mini, I would have felt their panic before they took them. My hold on their bonds hadn’t been as close as usual, but I still would have felt something. Anything. Anything that would tell me what had happened. They had to be safe. But, what if they weren’t? What if they were already…

Panic began rising in my throat as I called Brian’s phone. When he didn’t answer, I called him again. And again. And again. I forgot about everything about that day in the ten minutes I spent trying to get ahold of the werecat. All the strange looks given to me by the passing humans were ignored. The only thing I was concentrated on was the fact that I didn’t know where my pack was.

When the click of the phone being picked up finally came, I couldn’t help the surge of emotions that flooded through me.

“Brian?” I practically shouted into the speaker.

“ _Jesus fucking Christ Evan. We’re safe and we’re happy for once. Stop calling me_.” The werecat in question hissed, sounding angrier than I’d ever heard him. Before I could say anything back, the phone clicked again.

I pulled it away from my ear slowly, dazed and confused by the response. The image of a peaceful green forest on my home screen seemed so contradictory to the emotions warring in my chest. My anxiety was still present, but not as much as the guilt I felt stabbing my heart.

Of course Brian was angry with me. It all made sense now. He was in the middle of blaming me for Brock’s condition. He had every right to be angry because of my decision to help the fox. Anyone would be. I hadn’t considered it all the way through. Everyone knew it. Panda had said that himself. Brian had every right to be angry with me, to want to stay away from me.

If he was intentionally ignoring my calls, that meant that Mini was in on this too. It made sense. I’d seen the cold looks he’d been giving the fox. He was probably mad at me too, just like everyone else in the pack. They all had their reasons to be angry with the fox, but I’d forced them into taking care of him even when I knew it would cause problems. They had every right to be angry with me. All of them, especially Mini and Brian. I was to blame. Everything was on me. I was the screw up who was making them unhappy. I was-

At some point, I blacked out. When I was once again conscious of my surroundings, I realized that I was sitting on a bench in a park.

The leopard in my mind paced anxiously as I came to. The heat from his paws caused a ring of aches to burn through the top of my head as I gazed up at the sky above me.

   Everything in my mind had gone blank, but my heart still felt like it was being stabbed over and over again. I barely registered the tears streaming down my face as I sat there, wishing the pain would just stop.

I don’t know how much time passed. The only thing I knew was that I felt guilty and ashamed of myself. Nothing I seemed to be doing lately seemed to be the right thing. I’d almost lost control of the fire in my chest and I’d decided to keep the fox despite the tensions I knew it would cause in my pack. For years, I hadn’t been honest with them about anything and, now, I was lying to their faces every time I said I was fine.

I wasn’t fine. My powers were growing stronger and more unstable. A longing in my heart to find out who I was threatened to consume me every single day. The desperation with which I wanted to find something, anything about my past was suffocating and it had only been made worse by my meeting with Mark and Amy. I wanted to know who I was, why I was so dangerous.

Now, there was the fox as well.

All of my instincts pointed to him. All the most dangerous parts of my soul, the things I’d been avoiding thinking about for years were coming to life because of a fox who I’d never met before. I felt guilty for following the leopard in his instincts, and yet it felt right.

On top of everything, I almost felt as though my current pain was redemption for all the lives that were sacrificed every day that I didn’t put a stop to the labs.

For days, I’d been avoiding thinking about the fox and the lab I was supposed to be taking down, yet it was now staring me dead in the face. Most likely, the fox had come from the lab I was in charge of getting rid of. There were hundreds of people like him who were suffering just as much pain, if not more pain, than I could feel and see in the fox every single day. There were people losing their lives because I wasn’t doing anything.

In some horrible way, I felt as though I had already failed every single one of those people. They were all suffering because of me. The people in the lab, the fox, my pack. All of them. Because of me. The guilt was almost too much to bear as I stared up at the sky.

For a while, I could do nothing but dwell on these thoughts. Therefore, it shouldn’t have been surprising when I finally registered that the sky was beginning to turn orange. When I looked down at my phone, I saw that it was already 6 o’clock.

Dazed, I got up and started walking. I didn’t know where I was going. Texting Mini and Brian to pick me up was obviously out of the question. So, I walked, occasionally glancing up at the sunset to watch the sun’s slow progression towards the horizon.

As I passed by one store, however, the sight of something red caught my eye. I slowed to a stop and turned to look through the window.

In the display case just on the other side of the glass, sat a gold chain necklace which held a red stone within the silver charm on the end of it. I wasn’t sure what kind of stone it was, but it shown with a brilliance that enhanced itself with the setting sun.

For several moments, I stared at it, enraptured by the way it seemed to reflect the scarlet orange light coming from the sky behind me. It was gorgeous and fiery in all the ways that felt right to me.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I walked back out of the store with the necklace draped over my fingertips. The stone seemed to glow brighter in my possession, if that was even possible. Out here, uncontained by its display case, I half expected it to burst into flames just from its vibrance alone. It didn’t though.

Instead, it continued glowing as I placed it over my neck and continued walking around downtown.

Just as the top of the sun started to disappear behind the horizon, I received a text from Mini. The text said:

_Hi Evan! Sorry we’re late. Brian and I got caught up in a bunch of stuff, but we’re on our way now. Where you at?_

I huffed a sigh, too emotionally exhausted to understand if I should be angrier with myself or the two pack members. Before we left, I’d told Moo we would be back by five. Looking at the clock now, I saw that it was seven. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I hoped nothing had gone wrong with the fox.

With a start, I realized that I hadn’t even considered what my distance from the fox was doing to the necklace. I hadn’t felt any sudden lulls in strength, but I also hadn’t really been paying attention to the necklace at all. My worries throughout the day had kept me from even thinking about it.

Turning my gaze inwards for a moment, I glanced over at my leopard. He looked down at the necklace which seemed the same as it had been earlier and shrugged. I frowned before returning to the real world.

As I continued walking, I typed out a short text to Mini telling him to meet me in town square. Townsquare was only a few blocks away, so I got there in a timely manner despite my feet feeling as heavy as solid cement blocks.

The black truck sitting next to the sidewalk was unmistakable and, as I approached, Mini hopped out of the truck. The beta waited until I reached him to speak.

“Sorry Evan.” He apologized with a cautious look towards the truck. “Brian’s been acting weird and he said he didn’t want to go home, so I took him shopping and did a bunch of other things to get his mind off of it.”

I frowned and tilted my head. There wasn’t any anger in Mini’s voice like I’d been expecting. If anything, he seemed genuinely concerned as he glanced back at me. Something in his expression changed when he caught sight of my face.

“Evan?” He murmured, reaching towards me with a gentle hand. I instinctively shrunk from the touch. Mini paused and retracted his hand. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re not mad?”

Mini squinted at me and lifted an eyebrow. “Mad?”

“I tried calling.” I muttered, pulling my phone out of my pocket and glaring down at it miserably.

“I’m sorry Evan.” Mini murmured, his face openly confused as I glanced up at him. “My phone died while we were out. I wasn’t intentionally ignoring you. Why didn’t you call Brian?”

“I did.” My chest felt tight as I averted my gaze once more. Mini made a confused sound in the back of his throat and I suddenly received the suspicion that Brian had been alone in his angry response to my calls.

“Brian didn’t say anything about it.” Mini wondered bemusedly, turning to look at the truck. I followed his gaze, but I couldn’t see through the windows past their dark tint. The bitter stench of stress was beginning to make itself known as I looked up at it though.

“Did Brian say why he didn’t want to go home?” I asked Mini as I traded him spots and reached for the driver door.

“No.” Mini responded, lowering his voice to a low murmur. “I’m assuming it has something to do with Brock though. You’ve noticed it too right?”

I nodded reluctantly. “Hopefully it’s just the stress from the fox.”

“Hopefully.” Mini murmured as he opened his door and jumped up into the seat behind mine. I followed suit and closed the door behind me.

Immediately, I noticed the storm next to me in the passenger seat, but I didn’t make a comment on it. My heart was already too weak from my attack hours ago for confrontation. Brian said nothing as I put the car into drive and began the trip back home through town.

By the time we got onto the road that would lead us out to our territory, it was already getting dark. The sun had fully disappeared by this point and the half moon was beginning to shine brightly above the trees we passed under. We were about halfway to the house when Mini finally spoke up.

“I texted Brock.” He informed us, his voice sounding unnaturally loud in the near silence that had consumed us for a half an hour. “He said the fox is doing good. They got him through a bath and cleaned him up. His wounds are keeping together for the most part. There’s only a little bit of bleeding, so we can start healing his head tomorrow most likely.”

“That’s good.” I remarked, noting the change in atmosphere on the other side of the car.

“As long as Anthony can give us those spells, it should be a synch.” From behind me, I could hear Mini scoot over towards the middle seat. From the slight ripple of color in our bond, I could tell he noticed Brian’s mood as well.

“If he can’t get the spells to you tomorrow, you guys should take a break.” I suggested after a moment, my hands tightening around the steering wheel when Brian scoffed and crossed his arms.

“It’s not like Brock’ll follow that suggestion. He wouldn’t hesitate to do anythin’ _you_ asked him to do.”

“Sounds like someone’s jealous.” Mini remarked from the backseat. I kept my eyes on the road despite the growing unease I felt in my stomach as the scent of anger hit the air.

“Shut the fuck up Craig.” Brian snapped, surprising both me and Mini. I could feel the guilt and shock rush through Mini as if it were my own.

“I’m sorry?” I uttered in disbelief, turning to look at Brian for a second in confusion.

“You should be.” The werecat growled vehemently.

“Woah there bud. Take it down a notch.” Mini tried interrupting from his seat. Brian ignored him, his blue eyes blazing with an intensity I’d never seen in him as he turned to face me.

“Everyone in the pack is hurtin’ because of your commitment to save a wounded mutt who has no business bein’ in our house. Brock and Craig are exhausted and getting worse, and whose fault do you think that is?”

“Don’t you dare try bringing me into this Brian.” Mini asserted from his spot behind me. Personally, the only thing I could do was stare at the werecat next to me in intervals as I continued driving. Brian barely spared a glance back at Mini before continuing to glare at me.

“Wha- I- I ju- What?” I stammered, trying to wrap my head around the stench of anger rolling off the werecat.

“Why the fook does he trust you so much!? After all you’ve done? After all you put him t’rough every single day? After how much pain yer putting him t’rough right now, Brock still trusts tat you’re doing the right thing. What the hell did you do to deserve that kind of devotion!?” Brian hissed angrily, his accent increasing as he turned to face me fully.

At any other time, I would have immediately shot back with a list of things I’d done for Moo. At that moment though, I was so dumbfounded by Brian’s apparent rage that I couldn’t respond. Luckily, Mini was already ahead of me.

“Are you fuckin’ kidding me!?” The beta practically snarled, shoving his white-haired head and shoulders up over the seats to block my view of Brian. “Evan has done more for every single one of us then we’ve ever done for ourselves. He saved Brock from a life of desolation and torture. Have you forgotten that Evan was part of the operation that released Brock from imprisonment?”

“I haven’t forgot about-“ Brian tried to defend himself, but was immediately interrupted by the seething beta in front of him.

“How blind can you be to even wonder why we trust Evan? He’s helped every single one of us more than once, not just Brock. Have you forgotten that it was Evan who took you and Nogla in when you guys were running from the humans? He was the one who fed both of you, who gave you shelter in our ranks to protect you guys. Yet, you have the audacity to question why we trust him? After all he’s done for us and is still doing for us?”

“I know he’s helped us!” Brian shouted, his voice exploding through the confines of the truck. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I listened to him. “He helped Marcel and Scotty when they were running from ta hunters. He saved Tyler from getting shot for treason. He helped Lui escape imprisonment in a federal penitentiary. He’s been helping Panda get a control over his powers and he also saved you from being killed during your first Bavsha!”

Mini and I both flinched at Brian’s last sentence and I felt my heart rate increase the more things Brian listed off. My breath caught in my throat, my vision going blurry, as the werecat continued.

“He’s helped every single one of us and, even t'ough Evan's a good guy, I just don’t understand why we aren’t fighting against his decisions more. We don’t have the resources to help this stupid fox, trying to heal him is exhausting you _and_ Brock, and we don’t even know if he’ll survive! What happens when all of our efforts turn out to be in vain, just like Lui said? What happens when both you and Brock go into a Haze? What happens when  the fox dies?”

I felt rather than thought about my foot moving as I stomped on the brakes as hard as I could. The sound of rubber screeching on asphalt echoed around us, making a sickening suction cup like sound when the world spun through my vision. My arm automatically shot out to grab Mini and hold his shoulders protectively against my chest as the truck turned sideways and tilted up into the air.

For a moment, I feared that we would tip over, but we didn’t. The truck only came up on two wheels before hitting the ground once more. We came to a stop after several seconds spent in terrified suspension.

All of us were breathing hard in the deafening silence of the night. The truck was still on, but the sound of its engine didn’t compare to the hammering of my heart as I realized how much danger I’d just put Mini and Brian in.

The feeling of a hand tapping my bicep made me flex on instinct. The hand paused before it gripped my forearm and slowly pulled it away. I barely registered the feeling of Mini’s soft hair pressed against my cheek as I allowed him to release himself from my grip.

   As soon as he was no longer leaning on me, I slammed the truck into park and flung the door open before slipping out of my seat to the ground below. I stumbled a little when I hit the asphalt. The momentary imbalance didn’t stop me from putting as much distance as possible between me and the truck of terrified packmates.

   I barely registered the sounds of the truck doors opening and shutting as I collapsed to my hands and knees. A dust cloud hovered around me, making it harder to breathe. The ground below me looked smudge, as if someone had run a paintbrush of a million colors across the grass and the asphalt. My heart didn’t slow and neither did my breathing which caused spots to begin dancing in my eyes. I gasped for air but came up with little to nothing.

   Panic, fear, and anxiety gripped my chest with such intensity that I felt the tears running down my face before anything. Heat began crawling through my body as I tried to grasp what had just happened. I swore steam came off my body in spiraling puffs every time the rain sprinkled down on me.

Behind me, I could feel more than hear Brian and Mini arguing with one another. This time though, there wasn’t anger in their argument. There was only concern.

My mind reeled with dizzying force as I sat there, willing my sanity back to chase away my panic. The heat dancing under my skin only served to keep me right in the middle of the emotions churning through me. I was caught between the fear of having an episode while also trying to regain my composure.

The only thing keeping the heat at bay was my innate sense of responsibility to keep my pack members safe after what I’d just put them through. For that, I was grateful.

After several moments, I felt my breath coming back to me as I crouched down a little further to look at the grass below me. Slowly, my vision returned, and I was able to see every blade under the light of the waning moon. Behind me, I heard someone begin to approach.

“Don’t.” I growled uneasily when they reached out a hand. The presence hesitated before receding once more.

Standing, I turned to see that it was Brian who had approached me. Part of me had been expecting it to be Mini considering he had the beta pheromones that could calm me.

“Evan, I-” Brian started.

“Get in the truck. Both of you.” I ordered with a firm look at the two demons standing between me and the vehicle. The look of dismay in Brian’s eyes almost swayed me as he hesitated.

After a moment, the werecat bowed his head before turning to march back to the passenger side of the truck. The door slammed shut and I was left with Mini who stood a safe distance away from me.

“Evan…” The beta tried but stopped when I shook my head.

“I’m sorry.” I murmured softly.

There were many things I was sorry for at that moment. I realized as I stood there in the middle of the road with my truck sitting sideways that I would never forgive myself for this incident in particular though.

Mini gave me a sympathetic look before obediently returning to the truck and getting in. I took a moment to suck in more fresh air before I too made my way over and jumped up into my seat.

The rest of the car ride was uneventful, spent in silence that could have been deafening if my head wasn’t still pounding from the swirling emotions in my chest. I could tell I was making the other two uncomfortable, but that didn’t stop me. The smell of burnt rubber flitted across my nose every once in a while, reminding me of my mistake.

Even when we got to the garage, no one spoke, nor did they make a comment during our trek through the woods. Luckily, no one seemed to be awake when we got home, and Brian left to go upstairs without taking his jacket or his shoes off.

Mini, on the other hand, paused just inside the door and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

“He didn’t mean it Evan.” The beta murmured quietly. I swallowed harshly and shook my head.

“Then, why do I feel like he did?” My voice sounded foreign to me, broken and full of guilt and shame. Mini noticed of course and he sighed.

“Try not to let it get under your skin.” He suggested in a gentle voice as I turned to look at him. “Brian will come around.”

“And his issue with Brock?” I growled. “Will that come around as well? Will they suddenly get all better and be happy again even after I’ve made my decision to keep the fox safe?”

“Evan-”

“Don’t.” I snarled, turning away from the beta with my fists clenched as my shoulders trembled. “You’re gonna say it's not my fault, that I'm not the one to blame for Brian's anger or whatever his issue is with Moo, but it is. It’s all my fault. Everything going on in this pack right now is MY fault. Nothing can change that.”

Without waiting for a response, I marched my way up the stairs, ignoring the stinging sensation of Mini’s hurt in my mind. I needed to calm down. I needed to be alone in my room without angry and terrified pack mates surrounding me.

As soon as I opened the door to my room, I was doused in the sweet scent of vanilla. At first, I welcomed the smell but, after a moment, I felt something tug at my stomach. Instead of comforting me, the scent seemed to enhance the unease already in my chest and I found myself backing away from my room and heading back downstairs before I could really think about it.

Vanilla was my favorite scent. It was the one thing that normally made me feel calm and collected. After the fiasco that happened in the truck, it should have been the thing that made me sane again.

At that moment though, I wasn’t calm. My nerves were still on fire, but now the feeling was beginning to increase.

For a second, I almost walked right out the front door to go outside. My first instinct was to get as far away from the house as possible as the fire began building up in my arms.

However, before I could even turn towards the front door, my feet took a sharp turn to the left. Mini was gone, so he didn't see my panicked expression when my feet automatically led me down the next set of stairs to the basement. I tried to stop myself, my fear that I would burn the house down thrumming through my veins.

The moment I went for the controls though, I felt a sudden disconnect and I realized through a twang reverberating through my mind that I wasn’t in control. It was a feeling I had recently associated with _Bavsha_ , but it was unmistakable. My limbs moved without me telling them to and I no longer felt like me. Instead, I felt the fire under my skin grow hotter as the leopard took control.

At first, I resisted vehemently. It wasn’t my time for _Bavsha_. I still had a few months before then, but the leopard didn’t seem to care. The only thing he was focused on was something downstairs and he was adamant about getting there. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t stop him from taking us downstairs and stumbling into the room at the bottom. Only then did he pause long enough for me to regain control.

I took in several sharp breaths, baffled by the way my body seemed to relax coming down the stairs. Black spots danced through my vision as I tried to catch my breath.

Before I could even think about what I was doing, I stumbled over to the couch in the room and collapsed against the arm rest. My chest collided abruptly with the cushions and I heaved several coughs, my face squished up against my arms which were sprawled over top of the arm rest.

When I looked up, I felt some semblance of understanding wash over me.

On the mound of blankets between the glass coffee table and the couch, sat the body of the fox. He looked much better than before since the rest of the mud and blood stuck to his fur had been washed off earlier that day. Now, he was beginning to resemble the fox I’d met in my mind that first night.

At the sight of him, I felt the anxiety in my chest begin to fade.

Not for the first time that day, I folded into myself and landed heavily in my subconscious. My leopard gave me an apologetic look and bowed his head as soon as our eyes met, and I realized he was already next to the pole I used to chain him to when I was younger.

“What the hell is going on?” I growled angrily, glaring down at the giant leopard. The animal shuddered and cowered further against the ground.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.” He answered, his voice unnaturally quiet. “I heard the call and I knew I had to act.”

“The call?” I hissed, confusion coursing through me. The leopard nodded and lifted his head just enough for me to see the necklace hanging around his neck. The emerald therein was still a sickly green color, but it held more awareness then I’d felt in the past two days.

My immediate thought was that this could be my chance. For the past few days, I’d wanted nothing more than to speak with the fox again and ask him questions about what he could remember. I wanted to understand and to know why I was so protective over him.

As I stood there, staring at the necklace, I realized that my leopard’s actions had been based on these thoughts. Most likely, he had noticed the presence and acted immediately. I gave him a questioning look as he glanced up at me.

“We have to talk to him.” My leopard murmured, tilting his head down so that he could see the necklace too. “I have a question for him.”

“As do I.” I murmured, barely noting the implications of the leopard’s words as I returned to the real world.

My legs felt like jelly as I stood and walked around the edge of the couch to sit down. Briefly, I wondered where the guard was who was supposed to be watching over the fox was. I didn't know who should be downstairs, but I didn’t have time to ask the pack about the guard schedule.

Careful to keep my feet from hitting the fox, I laid down on the couch with my head on the arm rest.

Making sure I was in a comfortable spot, I closed my eyes and delved back into my mind. This time, I didn’t bother meditating. We had to get there as soon as possible.

The fox wasn’t waiting for me when I reached his mind in my leopard form like he had been three days previous. There was no shadow to greet me and, although I could sense a vague awareness flickering in his mind, I couldn’t see him at all.

My paws moved on instinct, leading me in circles around the edges of the fox’s mind. I barely even noticed that I was moving. The usual feeling of my paws meeting the concrete floor below me didn’t register as I paced in circles. The only thing I could feel was my fur growing in heat. Only, this time, I had no care in the world for how hot it got. There was no sense of self preservation as my pelt grew warmer and I continued my circles.

I was so focused on watching for any flicker of movement in the fox’s mind that I didn’t notice the pain in my shoulder or the increasing lull in my strength. On top of that, my fur was already so hot that I barely noticed the necklace burning around my neck as it sapped my energy from me.

It was this draining of energy that made my knees buckle just as I completed another circle. The concrete floor below me rushed up to meet me and I smacked into it with a groan. It was only then that I realized it was getting harder to breath. The pain was noticeable now and made my muscles  seize as I lay there, panting for breath.

Just as my paws reached up to rip the necklace off my neck, my breath faltered in my chest and some unseen pressure was suddenly lifted from my aching body. I gasped as some of my energy came flooding back, as if it had been suspended in the air, only to drop back onto me.

Several moments passed before a presence appeared on the other side of the smoke dividing me from the mind touching mine. The stench of anger singed my nose, causing a small chitter to escape my chest as I shrank from the person.

“You have no sense of self preservation do you?” A voice hissed angrily. “You have got to stop running on instinct. If you keep running yourself like you are, you could die.”

“Would that be so bad?” I muttered, my voice muffled by the ground my cheek was pressed against.

“Yes!” The person seethed. “If you keep spending your energy on me like you have been, you will die. That is not something to joke about!”

“Who… are you?” I groaned before I could stop myself, turning my head to the side to look up at the human standing above me.

Immediately, I recognized the milky green eyes of the fox. A flash of uncertainty struck through his gaze as he shook his head.

“I don’t know.” He admitted reluctantly. “Which is also my answer to trying to understand why you are literally trying to kill yourself in order to help me.”

“Is that what happened?” I mumbled incoherently, laying my head back down on the concrete below me. Even without seeing his face, I could feel the human’s grimace through the necklace.

“Yes. The fact that you don’t know that’s what happened makes this whole situation more dangerous than I thought it would be.”

An all too familiar pang of guilt spliced through me as I shuddered. My breath still felt shaky and I didn’t think I had the strength to stand. So, I simply laid there, slowly catching my breath. At some point, I felt the presence standing above me shrink.

I cracked and eye open to look across at the mind brushing mine. In front of me, I saw that the human had sat down. The smoke that once separated us didn’t close us off completely which meant I could see the brown beard and hair on the human's face. I couldn't make out anything else though.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone as self destructive as you.” The human muttered in an uneasy tone.

“It’s helping though, isn’t it?” I asked even though I wasn’t entirely sure what it was.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t, did I?” The human grumbled, folding his arms over his broad chest.

I coughed and slowly sat up. My front legs almost collapsed again as I straightened and tried to stretch my aching back. A wave of vertigo passed over my vision the moment I tried getting up fully which caused anxiety and to ripple through the necklace.

“Take it easy man.” The human reprimanded, his presence brushing up against my mind. “You’re gonna end up passing out at this rate.”

“At least I can talk to you.” I mused, lowering my center of gravity so I could crawl towards the human on unsteady feet. The human glared down at me as I laid down again in front of him  an expression of confusion on his face.

“Why would you want to talk to me?”

I sighed a little and shook my head. There were almost too many questions to sort through as they all jumped to the forefront of my mind. It took a moment for me to concentrate on one line of thought.

“I wanted to know why you came here.” I started, looking up at the human as he frowned and shook his head.

“I don't know why I came here. All’s I know is that I was drawn to this place because it seemed familiar.”

“Familiar how?”

“I don’t know.” The man shuddered, his frown deepening. “I don’t remember much about my past.”

I swallowed the bile in my throat as I glanced up at the human’s head. From this distance, I couldn’t see the hole in his head, but I knew it was there.

“Do you remember anything else?” I inquired, sitting up to face the human across from me.

His head shook solemnly. “Not much.”

“So, you can’t tell me why you’re here.” I surmised. The human tilted his head.

“Can you tell me why I’m here?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then, we’re even.”

I squinted at the fox, not entirely sure what to think about the his response.

Most of what I wanted to ask the fox was based on his memories. Everything I wanted to know had to do with who he was before the labs and what had happened to him after he escaped. I didn’t know if he could even answer half of my questions at this point though.

“Is that all you had to ask?” The human inquired, leaning forward as I considered what I should tell him.

“No. I had more, but…” I contemplated slowly, my mind shifting through ways I could continue the conversation. “We’ve made a lot of progress on your physical body.”

“I’ve noticed.” The human responded simply. I gave him a soft huff of acknowledgement.

“They said they got most of the bleeding closed off early this morning.”

“They did.” The human affirmed with a small bow of his head. “I also felt the bath they gave me.”

“They didn’t hurt you at all, did they?” I asked immediately, anxiety sparking in my chest. I hadn't been home long enough to ask Panda or Nogla how well they did with cleaning the fox earlier that day.

“No.” The human assured me with a placating hand. A touch of warmth spread the necklace as he continued. “Actually, they were nicer than the creatures I’ve encountered up until these past few days. I haven’t felt that comfortable in…”

I frowned and looked up into the man's eyes, but he wasn't looking at me. Instead, his gaze was cast far into the distance, their emptiness accentuated by the milky green color therein. After a moment, the human blinked rapidly and his eyes fell back to me.

“I haven't felt safe like that in a long time.”

From the back of my mind, I could hear a whisper of thought trail across my conscience. I tuned into it and realized it was my leopard.

 _Can I ask him a question_? The animal asked quietly. I hesitated as I considered his question.

The only times I’d let the alpha have control of me was during Bavsha. At any other time, I kept a close eye on him and rarely did I ever let him touch the controls in my mind. He was too dangerous and impulsive to let loose. At least, that's what I’d always thought about him.

As he came closer to the forefront of my mind, however, I didn't feel any malice whatsoever. If anything, I got the sense that the leopard was holding his inferno-like presence far away from the fox. He didn't want to hurt him.  

Not even an inkling of fiery sparks lit my fingertips as I reluctantly relinquished a small part of my control to him. A slight haze covered my vision as he stepped forward though. For a moment, I wondered if the blurry vision was something my leopard had to deal with all the time.

The fox’s reaction was immediate. His face tensed and he leaned away as the alpha made his appearance, a ghost of anxiety crossing his face. A slight tinge of fear fluttered through the necklace around my neck.

Automatically, the alpha bowed our head far below the human’s line of sight, letting our eyes roll back into our head. The motion was quite obviously canine. From the expression on the human’s face, I knew that he understood the submissive gesture. I knew it went against all of the alpha’s instincts to bow to the human, but he did it anyway.

“ ** _Macainva_**.” The alpha mewed softly. The human in front of us hesitated.

“ **Makiri**.” He whispered, sounding half stunned. His face reflected the sense of unease I could feel in the necklace. Despite that, the human shook himself and narrowed his eyes.

With a small growl, he reached over and slapped his hand on the floor below us with two distinct thuds. The leopard paused before sitting up to face the fox once more. He still kept his head low and his eyes averted as he spoke.

“ _Do you remember anything about the labs you were in_?” The leopard inquired, giving the fox a sympathetic look when he winced.

 “They were horrible.” The human muttered bitterly, never once taking his eyes off us. “Cold and dark in all the most intrusive ways possible.”

“ _How did you get out_?”

“There was a man.” He responded, his gaze hazing over ever so slightly as he seemed to think about this. “I knew him.”

“ _Do you remember who he was_?” The leopard asked. I could feel the spark of hope in his chest flicker into existence, but it was tempered by the look of uncertainty the human gave us.

“No.” He answered in a solemn voice. “Only that I knew him.”

Disappointment marred the leopard’s mind as he bowed again and stepped back from the controls. Gradually, his presence sank back into its rightful place. The human visibly relaxed.

“I don't remember much. I only know the context of my last few memories.” He admitted, glancing up at me with an apologetic look. I nodded a little as I realized what the leopard had been trying to get at.

“What do you remember about escaping?”

The human shook his head and hunched over a little to look at the ground between us. He seemed to ponder this for a moment before frowning.

“The man who helped me, he tried getting me to a resistance group that he said could help me. There were supposed to be two others getting out with me.” Anger and fear struck through the necklace, memories that reeked of Death drifting across the abyss between us to waft across my nose. “I don’t think they made it.”

I hesitated, my nose wrinkling at the smell of stress. Something in its quality made me bristle, especially when I realized what the human’s words meant.

“I’m sorry.” I murmured quietly.

“They were innocent.” The human lamented, anger striking through his voice as he continued. “Some of those resistance fighters were kids. I could hear the pitch in their voices. They were young. Yet, they sacrificed themselves for me, a worthless piece of-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” I snarled. My reaction surprised both me and the human, who flinched. I paused before straightening a little. “I don’t care who you are or what you did in the past. You’re safe now and you are not worthless. Don’t you dare say shit like that about yourself when you’re in my presence.”

For several moments, neither of us spoke. The human seemed stunned and shame collected in the necklace as he stared at the ground.

Personally, I couldn’t think of anything to say. My reaction had been abrupt, but I couldn’t handle the thought of the fox talking about himself like everyone else had been. I was a hypocrite for saying that about him and not myself, but neither of us could help it. Sometimes, we think dark thoughts about ourselves without realizing how much affection others have for us.

“Lab mentality.” The man muttered after a while, placing his hand on his forehead. “I think it sticks with a lot of us.”

“I know it does.” I acknowledged softly, noting the sadness pooling in the necklace. “It took one of my members several years to get over his dark thoughts too. You’re not alone.”

“For once.”

Even from across the chasm between us, I could hear the human swallow harshly. His hand was covering his eyes but, from under it, a single glimmer streaked down his burned cheek. Another tear followed soon after

“I was alone when I was taken. And the labs…” The human whispered, his voice cracking ever so slightly. A small hiccup made his broad shoulders bounce.

On instinct, I reached up and touched the necklace around my neck with the pads of my paw. The emerald in the charm was only about the size of one of my toes in my leopard form and I was once again reminded of just how small the fox was compared to me.

Gently, I pressed the emotions I was experiencing into the necklace. All my sadness and sympathy towards the fox as well as my urge to keep him safe flowed through me to the charm. With them came my anger at the humans and demons in the labs who experimented on and killed the innocent.

“Do you feel that?” I asked softly, noting the human’s change in posture. “That’s me. I’m here.”

Slowly, the human brought his hand away from his face and looked down at his chest. I couldn’t see what was there, but the human stared at whatever it was for a long time. At some point, his hands reached up to clutch at his chest.

“You won’t be here forever though.” He sniffled after a while. I tilted my head in confusion and placed my paw back on the ground.

“What?”

“You’re thinking about leaving.” The human observed, his milky green eyes coming back up to look at me.

“How...” I faltered, my face pinching as my mind raced through all the ways the fox could have found out about that. The human hummed considerably before pointing at my chest where the necklace sat. I looked down at it uncertainly.

“Obviously, you’ve already realized that you can feel my thoughts through that necklace.” The human noted. “It works the other way around too, but to a lesser extent. I can feel all your strongest emotions through that necklace just like you can feel mine.”

 I shifted uncomfortably as I gazed down at the brass encased emerald. My thoughts and emotions weren’t something I gave out easily. Showing other people these things on my own time was something very precious to me, something I only did with people I trusted. I did trust the fox to an extent, but it disturbed me to know that he could guess what I was thinking by the necklace alone.

   “Don’t worry.” The man assured me with a bitter smile as he reached up and rubbed at his eyes. “The past two days, I haven’t been conscious enough to actually think about your emotions or what they mean. The most I can do is sense them.”

  I frowned and looked down at the necklace once more. Part of me felt dumb for not realizing just how significant the piece of jewelry was in my communication with the fox. He hadn’t mentioned that he could feel my emotions, but I should’ve been the one to ask if that was possible.

  “Today has been different though.” The human continued, giving me a strange look. “All day, I’ve felt your guilt and apprehension towards something about me…”

  I glanced up at him as anguish and shame tainted my heart once more. My feelings towards the pack weren’t completely diminished and I still felt sick knowing that I’d put Mini and Brian in danger. Being in the fox’s presence though, I knew that my suffering was nothing compared to his. It didn’t feel right to bring it with me, so I’d been ignoring it

“You worry about your pack a lot.” The human mused with a small tilt of his head. “I suppose that’s a good quality for a leader. Maybe you aren’t as driven by your instincts as I thought.”

   “No.” I growled, turning my head away. “My instincts have been driving me up the walls the past few days ever since you came into the territory.”

   “Yet, I can feel you trying to fight them.” The human remarked. I shook my head.

   “I haven’t been very successful.”

   “Success doesn’t matter as long as you can say you tried.”

    “Alright Socrates, tone it down a little with your spiritual messages.” I interjected with a baffled huff of amusement. The man gave me a demure smile, his milky green eyes glowing through the shallow mist around his mind.

    “You see the truth in them though.”

   I sighed and averted my gaze. The only thing I could do at this point was try. So far, I felt like _trying_ to do the right thing didn’t seem to be the most beneficial way of going about life though. Everything that I was trying at, I was failing. Still, I continued considering the human’s words as we talked.

   “You’re right.” I admitted with a reluctant glance up at the person in front of me. “I am planning on leaving soon. I don’t know when, but I have to start my mission as soon as possible.”

   “Mission?” The human uttered curiously. I hummed considerably as I tried to think of a good way to explain myself.

   “Do you remember anything about Zephyra Evelynn?“ I inquired. My answer came to me as soon as the she-wolf’s first name passed through my lips.

   The man grimaced and bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl. His eyes hazed over for a moment, staring at something beyond my shoulder. A bitter sense of betrayal flickered through the necklace.

    “Not consciously, but the name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.” He growled after a moment, blinking away the film over his eyes.

     “Me too, trust me.” I muttered lowly. “Anyway, three weeks ago, I received a message from her. She told me that there was a place somewhere around our territory that I was to investigate. According to her, the place is a- well… a human experimentalist lab.”

    Immediately, the human’s eyes lit up with fear. He let out an uneasy growl, his eyes narrowing towards me.

     “A lab… Like the one I was in.”

   “I think it might be the same one.” I confessed, bowing my head in shame as I once again considered this fact.

  “Let me guess. That wolf told you to keep it quiet so she can press legal charges.” The man scoffed when I nodded.

   “Yes.”

   “Why am I not surprised?” He bristled before something seemed to occur to him. His milky green eyes bounced up to look at me with a muddled expression. “Wait, is that why you came here?”

   “It’s half the reason.” I acknowledged with a small nod. “I was genuinely concerned about your mental health, but I also wanted to tell you about this before I went any further.”

   The human leaned back and pursed his lips together, his dark eyebrows furrowing together. I couldn’t help but stare at the barely visible burns on his cheeks as he sat there. After a moment, he folded his arms over his chest and glowered at the ground between us.

    “Do you know where to start?” He asked.

    “No.” A dull ache started up in my chest as I considered how miserable my efforts to find out anything about the labs had been earlier that day. “I went into town today-”

   “I felt it.” The human interrupted with a significant look my way. As I looked up at him, I realized that many of the emotional explosions in town today had probably been noticed by the fox.

     “I met with the ambassadors in Panlyog to see if I could get information about the lab from them.” I continued after a moment.

    “It was fruitless though.” The human concluded, his eyes returning to the ground in front of him.

    “Basically.” I muttered.

In my meeting with the ambassadors, I’d achieved nothing but putting my pack in danger. I hadn’t found out where the lab was or if there even was one in the area. For weeks, I’d been racking my brain trying to figure out how I could track down a lab whose staff members would kill me if they found out what I was trying to do. Nothing I came up with was good enough though. I would have to start skimming the forests, but that could take weeks.

In the meantime, people were dying. People like the fox were being killed and tortured because I couldn’t even do so much as locate where they were being held in the first place.

  “That’s why he asked if I remembered anything.” The man murmured, mostly to himself. I glanced up at him with uncertainty.

“What?”

The human shook his head. “A subcounter looks different in its eyes when it takes control. It was obvious I wasn’t talking to the you I’m talking to now when you asked me how I escaped.”

   I gazed across the chasm at the figure perplexedly. Normally, people couldn’t tell the difference between a subcounter and their host. The only people that could were people like Brock, people who understood what a subgender was and how it changed a person. Only other subgenders could…

 The same scent that I’d smelt that first night drifted across my nose and it all clicked together.

    “You’re a beta.”

  “Don’t.” The man snapped, releasing a low warning growl from deep within his throat.

    “Sorry.” I apologized, bowing my head like the alpha had done earlier. “I won’t bring it up again.”

  The human glared across the chasm separating us for a moment, his eyes hazing over a little.

   It made sense now that I thought about it. An alpha’s instinct is to protect other subgenders like itself, especially betas and omegas. I’d never met an omega before, but I realized as I crouched below the human’s gaze that my urge to protect him and to roll over when he got angry was because he was a beta. I’d felt the same sensations when I’d first met Brock. That’s why my body instinctively relaxed in his presence.

   “I just don’t like being called that.” The human muttered, squeezing his eyes shut.

   “That’s understandable. I won’t mention it.” I assured him gently even though I did want to mention it. His beta status explained the necklace and the need for energy too I realized, which meant the necklace belonged to someone else, maybe another alpha once before. This thought led me to one of the other reasons I’d wanted to visit the fox.

    “Just before we left town today, the others were talking about how you’re going to get your energy.” I announced, lifting my head to look at the man once more. He glanced up at me with a solemn expression.

    “You didn’t tell them, did you?”

   “I can’t.” I protested with a shake of my head. “If I told them about the necklace, they wouldn’t trust me. It would only prove to them that I’m biased in your favor.”

   The human gave me a sympathetic look, his eyes shadowed by a sense of understanding. I acknowledged the expression with a glance before standing. Shaking myself, I began pacing.

   “The boys have an idea that may be able to get you more energy.” I informed the human across from me.

“How did they plan to do that?” He questioned, his eyes tracing my steps.

   I didn’t allow myself to hesitate even though my train of thought did falter a little. Most people weren’t very receptive to having potions and spells used on them. In all my travels of the world, there wasn’t a single species, human or demon, that accepted the way these things were used, which meant that the Matvreena who raised Panda weren’t really accepted either. The pack and I had grown used to spells simply because we lived with Panda and Nogla.

  Knowing this, I knew I couldn’t tell the fox that Panda and Nogla were going to try using a potion on him that might not even work.

 “They were willing to figure it out somehow.” I replied after a moment.

  “Would I have to have…” The human made a cutting motion along his throat from his chin to his chest.

  “No.” I assured him. “We don’t have the tools and we didn’t want to damage you more than necessary.”

    “Good.” The human remarked, his hand rubbing at his neck subconsciously as he watched me pace back and forth. I stopped after a moment and turned to face him.

   “I wanted to ask if you thought it was a good idea.”

   “What do you mean?”

    “If they could figure out how to get you more energy besides what I’m offering, would that help or hinder you at the moment?” I clarified, stepping forward to face the human fully. He shrunk a little and tilted his head.

   “If they could figure something out, it would definitely help.” The man speculated with a contemplative tone. “Right now, I’m using most of the energy you’re giving me as a supplement for food and water. The rest I’m saving for emergency purposes. If they can figure out how to supply the energy I would get from food and water, that means I can use all the energy you’re currently giving me to try healing myself.”

    My eyebrows lifted a little as I listened. I knew that the fox was surviving because of me, but I didn’t realize how he’d been using it. More than that though, his words made me realize something.

   “Since you mentioned transforming my energy into what you need,” I hypothesized, “would it be possible for you do that with a liquid from the physical world?”

    “Maybe.” The human hesitated in a way that remind me of Panda when I asked him about the potion earlier. “Why do you ask?”

     “There’s a person I know who might be able to make an elixir that has liquid energy in it.” I explained. “We still don’t how exactly we’d get it to you though without force feeding you.”

    “So, you mean transference of energy through, what… Skin contact?” The human wondered out loud. I tilted my head a little before nodding.

   “In theory.”

  The man considered me through his milky green eyes. I could see in his face that he was intrigued, and the small smirk he gave me seemed to confirm that.

   “I might be able to work something out.” He imparted with a small dip of his head. The muscles in my face tightened as I felt myself begin to smile.

   “I’m not sure what will happen exactly, but I can’t tell them that I’m giving you energy already, so they _will_ figure something else out. According to them, you’re in danger of an energy crisis. They’ll try their best to help you knowing that.”

    “Well,” The human mused, “if they can figure it out, that will help immensely, especially when you leave.”

“I didn’t feel much of a draw back today being away from you.” I observed reflectively.

“Doesn’t matter.” The human insisted. “Next time, you’ll be going farther than you did today and I tried my hardest not to draw anything from you went I felt you leave.”

“You cut yourself off.” Apprehension tinged my paws as the human hesitated.

“Not completely, but enough to know the distance wouldn’t kill you.” He admitted with a small bow of his head.

   “What if they can’t figure something out and I leave?” I quavered, my excitement tempered by this new information. “Do you know what would happen?”

    “It wouldn’t be good for you.” The human asserted, the tone of his voice leaving no room for argument. Still, my sense of duty to protect my family pressed me to a desperate solution.

   “The incapacitation spells-“

   “Are still affecting me.” The human interjected begrudgingly, his eyes growing hard. “You’re smarter than you look Evan. I don’t know why I didn’t consider the fact that the spells weren’t going to disappear. Part of the energy you’re giving me is being used to fight them. Luckily, they don’t seem to be affecting me as much as I know they should.”

I opened my mouth to ask him why when he raised a hand to cut me off.

“Don’t bother asking me why cause I have no clue the logic behind any of what has happened these past few days.” He muttered gruffly. I shook my head.

    “I had to have a safety net or the others wouldn’t have agreed to letting you stay.”

    “Smart.” The man replied with a reluctant look of admiration as he stared at the ground. His eyes were beginning to fade in color again like they had when we first met. I had to hurry, but I knew that what I was considering was crazy. It was worth a shot though.

  “If I could figure out how to get the incapacitation spells off you, would you be strong enough on your own to survive when I leave without taking energy from me?” I inquired, sitting down and watching the human’s movements intensely.

    “I don't think so…” He trailed off with a shake of his head. His voice was already beginning to sound weak. “Plus, didn’t you say before that your pack wouldn’t agree to removing the spells?”

“I don’t have to consult the whole pack though.” I asserted even though I knew what I was thinking about was completely underhanded. “The incapacitation spells are a group effort made and maintained by everybody who designed them. Only one of my pack members is in charge of the exceptions to the spells though. If he agreed to it, I would only have to talk to him and no one else.”

“Wouldn’t that be betraying their trust though?” The human pointed out, his eyes wavering in their green hues.

I hesitated, noting the way he looked at me as though he thought I was going to kick a rabbit. His expression made me feel somewhere between guilty and just down right upset. He had to survive though. We had to have a backup plan just in case Panda couldn't figure something out. Before I could even consider going after the people who imprisoned the fox, I had to make sure that he would live without me.

If I succeeded, I would end up with a new ally and another successful case where I saved hundreds of people. It was a win for everyone.

“Yes.” I confessed after a moment. “It’s a necessary sacrifice though. If I can’t get him to remove the spells, I might end up hurting myself... or someone else.”

Automatically, my eyes wandered down to my paws. My powers were getting dangerous again. Back when I was younger, I considered them an asset. Being able to produce an insane amount of heat in your hands becomes very useful when you’re trying to warm up some food or keep yourself warm in the winter… or when you’re fighting someone.

There was no place for that kind of violence now though. If I got any more unstable both in my physical and emotional exertions, my powers were bound to get out of control again. Removing the spells wasn’t just for the fox. Doing it would allow me to alleviate some of my stress which would decrease the likelihood of my powers sparking up again.

I had to ask myself, would I rather betray the pack’s trust or would I rather them burned?

“I can’t hurt anyone.” I growled, glaring at my paws in disgust. Across from me, I could feel the human nod a little.

“Even if you succeed in getting the spells lifted, we should figure out a backup in case the ‘magical elixir’ doesn’t work.” He observed uneasily.

“True.”

“If you leave while you still have that necklace and the elixir fails, you _will_ die.” The human promised. I flinched at the thought. “The strain would be too much for your body to take.”

“Yet, you still need energy while I’m gone.” I mulled over my thoughts as he hesitated.

               Panda’s potions were iffy at best. Not even Panda had been entirely sure that he could use a potion to help the fox’s energy levels. On top of that, I didn’t know if he’d consulted Nogla about making a potion that could soak into the fox’s skin. The plan with Panda wasn’t a very good one and I wasn’t about to leave knowing that the fox’s chances of survival were dismal if I wasn’t there for him to fall back on.

My energy was depleting anyway though. Even if we didn’t deal with this now and I never left, the fox would still need something to draw energy from until he could wake up and feed himself. There had to be something else, some sort of energy source he could use as a backup.

As I thought about this, my eyes wandered down to the necklace hanging around my neck. The emerald was beginning to fade in color which meant I had to figure out what we were going to do as fast as possible. The little jewel gazed up at me as I stared at it. Briefly, I wondered what kind of gem it was to have the ability to suck up my energy and transport it to…

That was it.

“How does this necklace work?” I blurted, jumping up onto my feet. The human looked at me as if I’d grown a second head.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, how does it work?” I clarified, touching the emerald on my chest. “Is there a way that I can use the technology in this necklace to transfer my energy somewhere and store it for you to use?”

Surprisingly, the man didn’t even hesitate when he nodded.

“Yeah. I’ve heard of several enchanted objects that could be used to store energy. That necklace is one of them. I don’t know how to do it myself, but the person who made that necklace did.”

“And you don’t remember who they are.” I supposed. The human shrugged.

“I don’t remember much. I only know that it’s possible.”

“How though?” I muttered mostly to myself.

“I have no clue.” The human responded with a shake of his head. “I’m pretty sure you could enchant just about anything, but jewelry is the easiest.”

I pursed my lips a little. Far in my mind, I could tell that my leopard was intrigued by our line of conversation. As the human spoke, he pressed a sense of confidence into my thoughts. For whatever reason, he seemed to be certain that we could enchant something. We didn’t have any jewelry th...

The necklace I bought in town earlier that day. That’s what it was for.

               “I might have a solution.” I testified, excitement building up in my chest.

               “You do?” The human inquired doubtfully.

               “I have something I can enchant in the real world.” I informed him, my train of thought beginning to pick up speed. “If I can find a safe place to hide the necklace in the territory, I could store energy in it until I leave. Then, if they don’t find the elixir, you can fall back on the necklace I leave behind.”

               The human frowned before nodding a little. “That does seem to check it out.”

“What if I did it tonight?” I declared. In my mind, I could still feel the incessant ache of my emotions from earlier haunting the edges of my thoughts. Emotions were powerful, maybe even strong enough to make enchanting an object a lot easier when I had no clue how to do it.

               “You can’t waste anymore energy today.” The human responded immediately, shaking his head vigorously.

               “Today, I’ve had more energy coursing through me then ever before. There’s a lot of anxiety and guilt and anger built up in here.” I insisted. “If I could channel that-”

               “Evan.” The man interrupted with a firm glare. “You can’t transplant energy today. You could pass out.”

               “I have to do it. What better time than now?” I testified with a conviction that surprised even me. Still, the human looked uncertain.

               Despite my excitement at this new development, I understood why he was hesitant. At the very beginning of our meeting, I’d almost passed out and there had been several times in the day where I got dizzy. It probably wasn’t a good idea to enchant something in my mindset at the time, but my thought was that, if I could figure out how to do it and store at least a little bit of energy away, I could go back later through the next few days and add more to it.

Surely regulating the flow of energy between me and an inanimate object couldn’t be that hard.

               “I’ll need to build up energy again for whenever I leave.” I added. “If I don’t discover anything else, I plan to start scouting out the area north of here. I’ve heard some rumors about that place.”

               Demons like Mark and Amy wouldn’t be searching for just anyone in the middle of a hostile city where they were sure to be watched from the moment they entered. They had a reason for coming to town. Briefly, I remembered Mark saying something about some friends who had gone missing. What better place to look for missing people than a human experimentalist lab. It was a stretch, bit it was possible.

               “You can transplant it and then rebuild it later.” The human across from me tried again, his voice attracting me back to the present. “Not tonight though Evan, please.”

               “It has to be tonight.” I responded. The human faltered a little, his gaze hazing over as a vivid bout of pain exploded through the necklace.

I flinched as the feeling spread through my chest and froze my lungs for a moment. In front of me, the human leaned over and placed his head in his hands. With his fingers, he began rubbing rough circles into his temples. This constant motion seemed to alleviate some of the pain, but not all of it.

When the man looked up at me again, it was with eyes that were more white than green.

               “Just don’t die, would ya?” He muttered, concern rippling through the necklace as he fought whatever seizure was beginning to set into his mind.

               “You should head back.” I suggested worriedly as I stood. “Don’t you worry about me.”

               “There’s no stopping that.” The man huffed in a tired voice. “You’ll learn. Worrying is what I do best.”

               I smiled and flicked my nose towards the human’s mind. He got the message and stood. Once again, I caught sight of the dark beard covering his jawline. Just as he turned to leave, he paused.

“By the way, I've a favor to ask you.”

“What is it?” I asked as lightly as possible.

“When you get the chance, could you make sure that something is covering my eyes?”

               “Why?”

               “My eyes are extremely sensitive to the light, even now with them closed.” The human explained, even though I could feel the flutter in the necklace that told me he wasn’t telling the whole truth. “I just need something small. A washcloth or something. Anything… Anything to block out what I can see.”

               At this, the human shuttered and looked away. From the necklace, I felt his thoughts begin to crack. Knowing this, I didn’t pursue the topic. Plus, I hoped for the chance to talk to him about his past later on, after some of the trauma had been washed away from him.

               “Go back and get some rest.” I ordered, keeping my voice low and gentle. Even without touching the human, I tried pushing my feelings against his mind.

               I wanted to make sure he understood that I was trying my best to keep him safe. There were so many emotions that I didn’t have the time or patience to place into words at that moment. The only thing I knew was that I could feel the deep sense of melancholic longing in the fox’s heart and it made something in me ache.

               The human across from me smiled, a momentary look of calm appearing on his face. From him, I received an impression of amusement and he shook his head.

               “You remind of someone I met once Evan.” He mused as he began walking away. “I think it’s a good thing too. The familiarity is nice.”

               I tilted my head a little, realizing that I’d been using the same words to describe a lot of things lately. Familiar.

               As I watched, the human waved over his shoulder before disappearing once more behind his purple smog. The clouds swallowed him up and I was left on the cusp of our two minds, alone with my thoughts once more.

               I took my time wandering back to my mind. The place I was considering hiding the necklace was not part of my favorite memories. The destruction I’d wrought there was almost too much to bear.

               There was no doubt about it though. It would be the best place to store energy for the fox.

               Sucking in a deep breath, I returned to the real world, my chest rising as I drew in the air around me. The scent that I was beginning to recognize as the fox’s swirled around me. The slight calm that washed over me seemed obvious now that I had remembered that he was a beta. His scent was meant to calm me.

               So far, no one had come down to guard the fox, which was strange. Nobody in the house seemed to be awake and, for a moment, I considered staying by the fox’s side until someone came down.

If I waited though, I would have to explain where I was going to whoever came downstairs. Granted, my emotions were already wrecked and my physical condition was no better, but I didn’t want to deal with the added stress. So, I got up, brushed my fingers across the fox’s cheek, and made my way to the glass doors off to the side of the room.

Casting one last glance over my shoulder at the fox, I walked outside and closed the door behind me. My anxiety increased as I angled towards the northern part of the territory. The only thing that gave me comfort was the fact that I knew this would help both me and the fox immensely.

               I recognized the plants before I reached the place I was looking for. All of the trees and bushes were short, as if they had only been growing for a year or two. In all honesty, I knew that was exactly what had happened. Just a few years ago, they’d been burned to a crisp. The entire area I approached had once been engulfed in flames that came from within my heart. My skin crawled as I felt the influx of power around me.

               The cabin in the clearing I came to stood somewhat intact. It seemed to be rooted to the place it was built in years ago when it was dedicated to my time of _Bavsha_.

Now though, it was overgrown with tall grass and winding vines that wandered up its charred wooden structure, or at least what remained of it. The roof had been blown off and some of the walls had exploded. The sound of the whole house splintering echoed through my memories.

Shadows haunted the edges of the building and I realized as I walked around it that the world had gone eerily quiet. The energy vibrating through the air around me made me hesitate at the remnants of the back door.

               Around my neck, the necklace I’d bought in town rubbed against my skin and my shirt. I looked down at it, my hands coming up to hold the silver charm with the red stone.

Once again, I was impressed by how much it resembled me. Even in the dim night light, it shined with a brilliance that I’d never seen in a piece of jewelry before. For a moment, I wondered if it could contain the power that I was going to imbue it with.

               A small twinge of sadness flickered in my chest as I considered the idea that my energy could break the gem. I had to try though. I had to do something right for once.

               Dropping the charm back onto my chest, I started looking for a place to hide the necklace. I looked high and low for anywhere I could safely place it without anybody knowing about it. Considering there didn’t seem to be any wildlife in the area, I highly doubted anyone would look for the necklace, especially with the energy I’d left behind during my episode. One couldn’t be too careful though.

               Eventually, I found a spot in some gnarled roots of a charred tree nearby that was inconspicuous but unique enough for me to remember it.

The ground was still wet from the rain earlier that day. Therefore, I didn’t sit down as I placed the necklace in the nook of the tree. I figured I could still give it energy even with it hidden already.

               So, I crouched down and began meditating over the necklace. In which case I mean I stared at it for a long time in the expectation that whatever process was supposed to happen would come naturally.

               I didn’t know what I was doing. For all I knew, I was just making a fool of myself in the middle of the woods, staring at a necklace whose purpose I wasn’t even 100% sure of. In the back of my mind, I could feel a familiar presence brushing across my conscience as the fox watched over me. The feeling was curious, but I ignored it as I began some breathing exercises that I thought could help.

               After a while, I was fairly certain that I was wasting my time. My leopard was the only one who kept me from getting up and walking away. He was still confident that we could enchant the necklace, but he didn’t offer to help even though I could see that he was itching to do something.

               The charred remnants of the building were the only thing that kept me from allowing him to handle anything. Last time I let him have control, he’d destroyed this clearing. I wasn’t going to have him do that again and he knew it.

               I wasn’t sure how much time passed. The moon was hovering high in the sky though when I felt the surge in my gut.

               At first, I thought I was going to puke. The surge caused a lull in my concentration and I almost fell over as it rushed through me. The force was dizzying, sending my thoughts reeling in thousands of directions.

From deep within me, a raging fire awakened and rolled up through every inch of my body and mind. The feeling swept me off my feet as I collapsed onto my hands and knees. My skin hissed with heat. The green plants below me shriveled up and died as I grew hotter.

Just like before, I was surprised my skin didn’t burn off right then and there as the inferno in my heart exploded through my mind. Everywhere I turned, the fire raged with a vengeance. All of the flames seized my conscience with an intense insanity that I struggled to stay away from.

 _Help me!_ A voice hissed from within me. I reached for the voice and found myself intertwining with my leopard. Panic consumed the animal’s mind as he stood behind me, hissing and snapping at the flames consuming us.

At any other time, the inferno normally came from within the leopard. This fire was different though.

It was like the fire came from the floors of my conscience and hacked viciously at my leopard’s heels as he hissed at them. The flames seemed intent on disposing of the thundering alpha. They struck at him with malice and burned him everytime he resisted their advances. Despite this, my leopard continued chasing them away.

 _Hurry! Do it now!_ The leopard bellowed, roaring thunderously when the flames snapped against his side.

Returning to the real world, I crawled forward, feeling the sickening crack of my bones as my body began to shift. This time the transformation was painful.

Any other time, I would willingly shift into animal form, but I couldn't do that now if I didn't want to lose control. Keeping myself from shifting was hard though. Everytime my bones tried shifting, I had to rebreak them and force them back into place. The pain was excruciating as I moved towards the necklace.

As soon as my fingers brushed the silver charm, I felt an abrupt change in the way the flames in my mind moved. Instead of going after me, they struck towards the necklace. Each time they touched the physical world, they seemed to drain through my fingertips. The buzzing in my hand made me think my hand was being chopped off and I was sure it would be burned by the end of this, but I continued nonetheless. If I didn’t, the fire would consume the clearing again. It had to go somewhere else.

As the fire drained from my body, however, I began to feel light headed. Without the pressure in my mind, I felt my very existence begin collapsing in on itself. It was uncanny and terrifying. At some point, I was overcome with the thought that this was all just some horrible dream and I would wake up soon.

I didn't wake up though. For what seemed like hours, I writhed in pain on the rain soaked ground. Not even the rain that began pouring down could cool my seething skin though. I wanted to puke. I wanted to cry. I wanted to curl in on myself and die.

Instead though, I was stuck with my hand in a tree trunk as I faced the gates of Hell itself.

I don’t know how long I rolled on the ground in agony. The only thing I knew was pain and fear. It invaded every part of me in all the most intrusive ways possible.

Just as I was beginning to become numb to the fire wreathing under my skin, I started feeling the true nature of it. The flames weren't just pain. They were power. With them, I realized everything could be mine and everything would be mine if I just-

Pain exploded through my hand as my leopard lunged forward and snapped his teeth around my conscience. Immediately, I collapsed onto the ground in both the physical and mental worlds.

After several, desperate gasps, I felt my lungs begin to collapse in on themselves. A sharp pain exploded in my left shoulder as the world spun and my heart stopped. I felt my thoughts halt abruptly just before the world went black.

****

            _I was sinking. Falling into an eternal abyss of darkness. The pressure on my chest was suffocating and I could feel nothing but the everlasting nothingness around me begin consuming me…_

_I sank further, tumbling down and down… and down. There was nothing to look at. Nothing to feel. Nothing to think about other than I was falling. Further and further. I was sinking and there was nothing to stop me. Nothing to keep me from falling._

_Nobody knew where I was. Nobody knew that I was falling. Sinking further into the abyss. A strange feeling made my chest shrink as I realized I was alone. There was no one else in the abyss with me. Nobody experiencing the sickening sensation of zero gravity._

_I had already betrayed them. Thought Crime. I’d committed it already by… what did I do?_

_Suddenly, I wasn't falling anymore. There was no abrupt stop though. It wasn't like I just dropped out of the sky. It was like I had been asleep all along._

_As I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a lush green forest. The leaves above me were dappled by the sunlight. It wasn’t rainy which meant the sky was blue. The warmth of the sun gazing down on me made me shiver._

_I rolled over to look at the ground below me only to realize that it was all grass. Around me, there was nothing but green. Nothing but dirt. Nothing but trees and life and plants that showed their colors in bright alluring shades._

_Above me, I heard the wind rustle through the tree branches and the birds began to chirp. One distinct sound more than anything lilted through my ears as I looked up._

_Flitting through the branches high in the trees, sat a blue jay. Its dark blue hues almost blended in with the shadows as it jumped from tree to tree. I watched it move with a grace that attracted me more than anything I’d ever felt._

_Slowly, the blue jay began moving away from me and I followed silently behind. Even as it moved, I could see him jumping through the trees. The blue jay’s wings glowed that alluring azure color and I felt it tugging me forward, much the same as before._

_I followed it through the undergrowth for a long time, always keeping it within my sight. Somehow, I got the sense that it was oblivious to me. Still, I followed it because… well, why not?_

_Somewhere along the way, the blue jay stumbled as it hopped from tree branch to tree branch. I wanted to run up and help it, but it recovered before I could do anything._

_Except, this time, I got the sense that it was aware of me following close behind it. It knew I was there, yet it never turned around. Instead, it lifted into the air and flew above me through the forest with a sense of urgency. I raced after it as it dodged through the branches._

_The last time I saw it, I watched as its blue wings glowed brilliant and the world folded in on itself._

****

_Evan? Evan? Wake up please. Ya gotta get up Evan._

               For a moment, I expected the threads of thought in the back of my mind to be shining with urgency. What I didn’t expect was the vaguely familiar mind pressing against mine from within. Whoever spoke talked as if they were nearby, as if they were already in my mind.

               _Evan. Wake up. Come back to the house. You’ll die out there._

               Subconsciously, I could feel my body rolling over in the grass around me. Every blade seemed to stick into my sides at sharp angles that made me uncomfortable as I forced my eyes open.

            _That’s it._ The voice coaxed me into standing. I made no conscious decision to move my body, but it didn’t matter. It moved on its own, drawn towards the presence calling to me from somewhere far away.

               _Come back. It’s the only way you’ll survive._

               A thrill of determination rooted itself deep into my paws as I stumbled forward. Something in the darkness around me tried grabbing my feet as I walked through the quiet air around me. It was irritating, but it drove me harder towards the presence calling to me.

               At some point, I registered the waning moon hanging far above my head, its light barely lighting the shadows enough for me to see where I was going. Somewhere in my mind, I knew where I was and where I was heading. No conscious thought passed through me though. The only thing I was concentrated on was the voice.

            _You’re an idiot Evan… but thank you._ The voice murmured. Had I had the strength to do anything other than trudge along through the forest, I might’ve smiled.

               The presence stayed with me as I continued my journey. It pressed against my mind with the gentleness of a mother hen guiding her newborn chick. For once, I felt like a child, too oblivious to see all the signs of danger while clinging to the warmth of something familiar.

               Eventually, I made it to my destination. The sight of the pearly white building glowing under the moonlight gave me a huge rush of relief. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt safe the moment I came within sight of it.

               With increasingly heavy steps, I made my way to the backdoor and pressed my nose into a small button just at eye level. The door clicked and popped open enough for me to smell the scent of healing products within the room on the other side.

               Shoving my nose into the crack, I slid the door open and made my way inside, careful to shut the door before moving further into the room. The heavy glass slid shut with a click and I made my way towards the dark mound in the middle of the room.

               Part of me knew someone else should have been in the room. The only presence I felt was the one drawing me towards it though. The other person was somewhere, somewhere above me.

               A low rumble vibrated through my chest as I approached the mound and sniffed at its charge. The person smelled healthier than before, but his pelt still held the stench of blood. So far, the infections seemed to have been cured. For that, I was grateful.

               Careful not to dump the person out of the mound, I kneaded the blankets around him into a comfortable little pile for myself. As soon as I was satisfied that it would be soft enough, I curled up next to the small canine body on the mound with my back to him. The soft pulse of the person’s breathing comforted me as I fell once more into oblivion.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea how terrible I feel for missing uploads ^^’ I know I said it last chapter, but I was absolutely swamped with things this past month and, honestly, I’ve been in a huge writing slump for the past few weeks. I think I wrote an essay a night for a good week and a half there at some point while also preparing tons of music for concerts. It was crazy to say the least. I really mean it when I say I feel awful for keeping you guys waiting
> 
> Fun fact: I wrote half of this last weekend and a quarter last weekend. This chapter is 42,600 words. I wanted to make sure I gifted you guys with good material as recompense for the long wait. Also, writing this, I have rediscovered that petting a cat is extremely therapeutic and my cat loves being pet so it works out for both of us. As I write this little blip, he is sitting in my lap watching me work ^^
> 
> I know Brian has seemed like a dick lately, but he has his reasons. Hopefully, you guys will understand soon~
> 
> Update: I have recently uploaded the cover photo for chapter 10 if you guys want to check that out as well. Also! I will reiterate this tomorrow, but I will be posting this fanfic on my Tumblr for those that don't have Wattpad or Archive or whatever the circumstances might be. My tumblr name is zephyra-loves-kpop for all those who want to read this fic over there. Enjoy the teaser!
> 
> Thank you for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> I have other social media platforms on YouTube, Twitter, Wattpad, and DeviantArt where I am active. I will be posting this story on my Wattpad account soon and I plan to use my DeviantArt as a site for all the fanart I do. DeviantArt is also the place where I will post my designs for each person in the story.  
> YouTube: Zephyra Evelynn  
> Twitter: Zephyra Evelynn <3 or @ZephyraEvelynn  
> Wattpad: @ZephyraEvelynn  
> DeviantArt: ZephyraEvelynn


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